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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24741679">Burning Out of Their Control</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomniumAvis/pseuds/SomniumAvis'>SomniumAvis</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>yes, we're the ones who started this fire [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Class 1-A (My Hero Academia), BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Gen, Heavy Angst, Minor Character Death, Nightmares, Probably ooc, Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:06:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>25,403</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24741679</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomniumAvis/pseuds/SomniumAvis</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone in the country of Yuuei understands that there are 12 districts and the Capitol, and every year, tributes from the districts are sent into the arena to die for the Capitol's entertainment. Now, the 100th Hunger Games and 4th Quarter Quell has arrived, and this Quell promises to be a bloody one. </p><p>Quirkless 16 year-old Midoriya Izuku of District 12 finds himself a tribute in the Games, forced to either kill, be killed, or wait for other people to die. But years of defying the Capitol's laws in order to feed his family and help others has left a spark in him - one that could be enough to burn the Capitol to the ground. </p><p>(Hunger Games AU)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead &amp; Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki &amp; Midoriya Izuku, Class 1-A &amp; Midoriya Izuku, Hatsume Mei &amp; Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku &amp; Original Character(s), Midoriya Izuku &amp; Shinsou Hitoshi, Midoriya Izuku &amp; Todoroki Shouto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>yes, we're the ones who started this fire [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1773937</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>71</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. May the odds be (n)ever in our favor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Before reading this, please read the prologue to this fic, "Kindling", because it explains the backstory and how the character dynamics were developed prior to this story, and many points that come up in this fic will be confusing without the backstory as explanation. This entire fic will be written on the assumption that you've read the prologue and understand the backstory.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sun has already begun to rise by the time Izuku wakes. Mom’s probably still asleep, he thinks, noting the silence of the house as he climbs out of bed and gets dressed. He grabs his bag and his knife and slips out the door, barely making any noise. Mom will know where he is. </p><p>Since it’s the day of the Reaping, there’s no one around to see Izuku as he navigates the empty streets of District 12. He heads to the Meadow and crosses the silent fence into the woods to meet the rest of the team at their usual spot. </p><p>Izuku breathes out as he walks. He’s always enjoyed the feeling of being in the woods, free from others’ expectations of him and from their silent eyes judging him for his Quirklessness. This feeling of freedom is only intensified by the fresh early morning air and the quietness that comes when no one’s around. </p><p>But today, there’s a sense of worry lingering over him that not even the woods can dissipate. </p><p>He treks through the woods, retrieves his most often used bow and arrows, and walks until he reaches the meeting spot, a little clearing among the trees with logs and rocks scattered around. Izuku perches on a log and waits. </p><p>It’s not long after until someone cheerily shouts, “Think fast, Deku!” </p><p>Startled out of his daze, Izuku throws himself off the log as Mirio pops up in the space he was just occupying before. They continue this dance for a few minutes more, until Mirio finally knocks him flat. </p><p>“Still asleep? You usually last much longer than that,” Mirio comments as he pulls on his discarded clothing. </p><p>“It’s too early for this, Lemillion.” Izuku hauls himself upright. “Besides, it’s the Reaping, right? We might as well conserve our strength and gather as much as we can. It’s the quietest it’ll get in the district.” </p><p>“Right. Flare and Suneater will probably be here soon, anyway.” Mirio finishes redressing and slings his own bow over his shoulder. </p><p>Mirio’s guess proves to be right. Tamaki arrives two minutes later, exchanging quiet greetings, and Akari weaves her way out of the thicket not long after. </p><p>“Hey, guys,” Akari says as she lifts her hand into a lazy wave. “Happy Hunger Games.” </p><p>“And may the odds be ever in your favor,” the rest of them chorus. </p><p>The rest of the morning is spent efficiently. The four of them divide into pairs and head into the woods, checking snares and traps, gathering berries and greens, and shooting down what prey they find. </p><p>“You seem tense, Deku,” Akari says quietly as they strip a bush of its berries. </p><p>Izuku sighs, releasing as much of his pent up worries in that one action as he can as he drops another berry into his forage bag. “It’s both Kouta’s and Eri’s first Reaping.” </p><p>“Hey, it’s two slips of paper among thousands. We didn’t let them take any tesserae, right?” Akari tries to sound confident, but Izuku can tell that she’s trying to convince herself, after years of having each other’s backs in the woods. </p><p>They make good time, meeting back up at the clearing with Mirio and Tamaki, loaded down with game. In silent agreement, they divide the spoils evenly among them, making sure that all their families have food. </p><p>“So, do we have time to do a little training, or do we have to head back now?” Akari asks. </p><p>Izuku shields his eyes with a hand as he looks up at the sky, gauging the sun’s position. “We have to be back at noon, so, yeah, I say we have some time,” he says. “Well, what kind of training do you want to do? Quirk training or Quirkless combat or archery?” </p><p>The others agree on Quirk training and one-on-one fights. Without a Quirk, Izuku sets to cleaning and gutting the game at the edge of the clearing while the others decide matches and who will fight who. Akari is soon paired with Mirio. She takes her matchbox and lights a match, creating a small flame for her to control, as they both settle into fighting stances. Izuku casts an analytical eye over the match while he works. When the fight is over, he gives them advice and tells them what he noticed, the standard procedure. </p><p>This repeats for the next match, and the next, and Izuku can finally let some of the tension in his body go as he relaxes in the woods with his friends, cut off from the world outside and the unpleasantries of the Reaping. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>They part ways at the edge of the meeting spot, as to not seem conspicuous when crossing the fence back into District 12. Izuku leaves first, bag loaded with what they’ve hunted and gathered over the morning. He stashes his weapons back in the log where they were originally hidden (except for the small knife he left home with) and crawls under the fence. </p><p>The four of them meet back up at the Hob to trade. Izuku meets with Sousaki Shino during their work and exchanges a few words about the Reaping and her nephew, Kouta. </p><p>Just outside the Hob, with all their business finished, they meet up to exchange goods and make sure one last time that everything is divided evenly, leaving each of them with some meat, greens, bread, berries, and money, as well as a few different rounds of ammunition for the flare guns they had gotten last autumn, which they had been saving up to get for months. </p><p>“Well, I guess this is it,” Tamaki says quietly. “Good luck, you two.”  </p><p>“May the odds be ever in your favor,” Mirio says, and Tamaki repeats after him.  </p><p>With both Mirio and Tamaki at nineteen years old, they have been exempt from the Reaping after six long years. The only reason why they weren’t working in the coal mines were because their families had businesses that they were soon to take over. With Izuku and Akari both at sixteen years old, they were both included in the Reaping and very much at risk for being thrown into an arena and made to fight to the death. </p><p>“Thanks,” Akari says. “We need all the luck we can get.” </p><p>Izuku doesn’t miss her bitter tone. “Thanks, guys,” he says to them. </p><p>They exchange their goodbyes and part ways, Izuku and Akari heading in one direction and Mirio and Tamaki heading in another. </p><p>The two of them walk through the Seam without talking. They reach Akari’s house and Akari walks up to the door, but doesn’t open it yet. </p><p>“Well, this is it. May the odds be ever in our favor,” she says. That saying might be too overdone, Izuku thinks, but like Akari said before, they’ll need all the luck they can get. </p><p>“Yeah,” Izuku says quietly. “See you in the Square.” </p><p>“Wear something nice,” Akari says dryly. “If we’re Reaped, might as well look pretty on the way to the slaughterhouse, right?” </p><p>“Same on your end,” he says, before nodding his goodbye and heading away to his house while Akari heads inside. </p><p> Mom greets him when Izuku enters the house. He smiles through the hopelessness and powerlessness he feels when thinking about the Games and the Capitol, and follows Mom’s directions for Izuku to clean up and get dressed for the Reaping, and he complies, thinking about Akari’s snide comment. </p><p>He finds that a bath has been prepared, and he scrubs the dirt and sweat and grime off him before dressing in the outfit that’s been laid out, a plain white button-up shirt and pants. He wraps a green scarf loosely around his neck and heads out of his room. </p><p>The rabbit meat and greens he brought home are sitting in a pot, left to simmer in a stew. He and Mom eat plain bread and fresh berries for lunch, saving the everything else for what’s meant to be a “celebration” this evening.  </p><p>When they head out for the Square with the summer sun burning down on them, Mom doesn’t speak, but Izuku can feel the worry radiating off her. Before entering the Square for the Reaping, she hugs him tight before leaving for another area while Izuku enters the roped-off area meant for the children whose names are entered in the Reaping. No words are exchanged, because what is one supposed to say when their family members are entered into a draw that could result in their death? </p><p>Nervousness tight around his chest, Izuku scans for Akari, and spots her in the girls’ section of the Square. She’s dressed in a light blouse and skirt, and has her red hair down instead of in a braid like Izuku’s used to seeing. Akari looks almost harmless like that, looking like a schoolgirl instead of the deadly hunter Izuku’s come to know her as. </p><p>As if she can hear Izuku’s thoughts from across the Square, her searching gaze then locks onto him and she narrows her eyes as if to say <em> not a word.  </em></p><p>Izuku smiles back at her as best as he can in this situation and turns away to face the Justice Building. Mirio and Tamaki could be anywhere, and there are so many people crowding along the sidelines that he doesn’t think he’ll be able to spot them. </p><p>The three chairs in front of the building start to fill up. One of them is occupied by the Mayor of District 12, one is occupied by the escort from the Capitol, a woman with long dark hair named Kayama Nemuri, and the last one is occupied by the last living victor of District 12, a perpetually tired, unsmiling man named Aizawa Shouta. </p><p>The Reaping is finally called to order and the Mayor stands up to read the Treaty of Treason, most of which Izuku tunes out as he waits for the names to be drawn. </p><p>Finally, Kayama steps forward. “Happy Hunger Games, everyone,” she says, much too cheerfully for this situation. “May the odds be ever in your favor, and welcome to the Reaping of the one hundredth Hunger Games and fourth Quarter Quell.” </p><p>After a bright “Ladies first!” Kayama walks over to the glass ball holding the girls’ names and reaches in. </p><p>Izuku is aware of his pounding heart more than ever now, with dead silence surrounding him and a name waiting to be pulled to see who would die this year. </p><p><em> Please, </em> he thinks. <em> Please, let the odds be in our favor.  </em></p><p>Kayama pulls the piece of paper out, opens it, and calls out the name written.   </p><p>“Chiaski Eri!” </p><p>
  <em> No!  </em>
</p><p>No, not Eri. Dread settles in Izuku’s chest like a worm burrowing through his heart as he watches Eri walk slowly towards the stage, her long pale hair flowing behind her. Not Eri, who had been abused and then rescued, only to be sent to her death. </p><p>The crowd mutters unhappily, the way they always do when a twelve year-old is picked, but no one makes a move to stop it. </p><p>“I volunteer as tribute!” </p><p>
  <em> Akari?! </em>
</p><p>Akari looks as fearless and heroic running to the stage to pull Eri back and take her place in the Games as she did running to save Izuku and Toshinori when the forest fire broke out the day they met. </p><p><em> Akari! </em> The dread pools in Izuku’s stomach. The damage has already been done, and there’s nothing he can do about it. The life of one loved one has been traded for the life of another loved one. <em> You’re in the Games now. Win, even if it means you have to kill people. I need you to come back. I can’t lose you like I lost Toshinori.  </em></p><p>It’s been so long since District 12 had a volunteer, that’s there’s a pause as it sinks in. All this while, Izuku’s eyes are trained on Akari and Eri in the aisle leading to the stage. He watches Akari try and push Eri back, watches Eri cling to Akari and cry silently, pleading with her in a whisper. </p><p>Akari’s rough, “No, Eri, go back,” can be heard from where Izuku stands. Mirio’s the one who has to come up and lead Eri away. Izuku can see the despair in his eyes. </p><p>Alone, Akari mounts the stage and stands at Kayama’s side (<em> where Eri would’ve stood if Akari hadn’t volunteered </em>) as Kayama says, “A volunteer! What’s your name?” </p><p>“Kimura Akari,” Akari replies flatly. </p><p>“Well, let’s give our volunteer, Kimura Akari, a round of applause!” </p><p>No one claps. </p><p>Instead, every person in the crowd presses their three middle fingers to their lips and raises their hands in the air. Emotion clamps Izuku’s throat tighter and he fights off tears as he follows suit. </p><p>When everyone’s put their hands down, Kayama says, “And now, for the boys.” </p><p><em> Please not me, </em> Izuku thinks. <em> Please, not anyone I know. Please let the odds be in our favor. We’ve already suffered enough, with Akari going into the arena.  </em></p><p>Kayama pulls the slip of paper out and reads, “Izumi Kouta!” </p><p>No, the odds aren’t in their favor, because this is much worse than Izuku going into the arena. </p><p>As Kouta steps into the aisle, Izuku watches in horror. </p><p>There can’t be anything worse than this. First Akari, now Kouta? </p><p>
  <em> There can’t possibly be anything worse than this.  </em>
</p><p>Izuku sees Kouta. He sees an innocent child heading straight into danger. </p><p>But he can do something, can’t he? </p><p>His body - and mouth - move on their own. </p><p>“I volunteer as tribute!” </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>admit it </p><p>you knew that was coming</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. From across the country</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Somehow this ended up getting kinda cheesy, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shouto wishes that he could be surprised at all the festivities surrounding Reaping Day, a day where children were sent to die, but he’s not. Here, in District 1, tributes are specifically trained for the purpose of fighting in the Games. If anything, the festivities are more extravagant than usual because this is the 100th Hunger Games and 4th Quarter Quell. He's even less surprised because he’s the child of the victor Todoroki Enji and the product of a Quirk marriage, and trained for this purpose. </p>
<p>He’s also not surprised that no one volunteers when his name is called and he mounts the stage. Everyone in the training facilities has seen what he’s capable of, even though he isn’t eighteen, the age of most Career Tributes sent into the arena. </p>
<p>He wonders what his siblings and mother must think of him now. </p>
<p>Even though that he’s faced the possibility that he would one day head into an arena where he would either kill or be killed, it still makes him feel chilled to the bone as if he overused his ice side when he faces his district partner, acquaintance, and fellow tribute, Yaoyorozu Momo, and shakes her hand after both their names have been called. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Well, this fucking sucks.  </em>
</p>
<p>That’s Katsuki’s only thought when his name is drawn at District 2’s Reaping. He was still in the stages of his Peacekeeper training, and he just had to be the one chosen to go to the Games as a Career Tribute of District 2, even if he was originally from District 12, and for a Quarter Quell, no less. No one volunteers when he’s called. This is probably because no one doubts his strength and skill in battle, and many suspect that he could win the Quell.  </p>
<p>This would’ve made him proud, but it’s the <em> Games </em>, and to prove his strength, he’ll have to kill. </p>
<p>After Katsuki mounts the stage and looks over the crowd, he spots his parents huddled in one corner of the crowd, and remembers his promise he made to them the year of his first Reaping. </p>
<p>
  <em> Promise you’ll come back to us. Promise us, no matter what.  </em>
</p>
<p>He thinks their eyes meet across the crowd. </p>
<p>
  <em> I promise I’ll come back to you. No matter what.  </em>
</p>
<p>But that means he’ll have to kill, because these are the Games.  </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Half of the time, Mei thinks that this Reaping business is all just a waste of time. Sure, it’s the Capitol’s tradition and it’s barbaric and people die because of it, but really, there has to be a much more efficient way of choosing names than just having everyone stand in front of the Justice Building as they wait for names to be called out. There are so many other ways to do it. Why not just pick the names in a broadcast and have everyone watch from home? It’s District 3, they have some of the best technology in the country not including the Capitol, and there’s just so much work to be done at home. </p>
<p>Mei zones out and shifts from foot to foot as she thinks about all her babies back at her workshop that she’s still working on, and all the upgrades that could be made for them. She zones back in at the familiar sound of her name being called. </p>
<p>
  <em> Ah. Crap. I’m heading into the Hunger Games.   </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuyu has never really liked the salty tang of the ocean, even with her Quirk. She prefers freshwater, and while they do have some lakes and rivers in District 4, most of the fishing is done by the ocean. </p>
<p>However, she’s a teenager from District 4, and she’s been trained to fight, in freshwater and saltwater and on land alike. </p>
<p>She’s been trained, more than her twelve year-old sister has. </p>
<p>So when her sister’s name is called out at the Reaping, she doesn’t hesitate to volunteer and take her place in the Games. </p>
<p>Tsuyu knows that she’s not eighteen, the age of most Career Tributes volunteering for the Games, but she’s fairly confident in her abilities. Besides, the twist on this Quell was that the tributes had the choice to go around and save innocent civilians in the arena before fighting each other, and Tsuyu’s confident in her rescue abilities. </p>
<p>What’s more, that’s her sister being called to the arena. And Tsuyu wants to be the one who acted in order to protect her. </p>
<p>As the Reaping finishes off, Tsuyu turns to shake the hand of her district partner. She knows Tokoyami Fumikage from the Career Tributes’ training facilities, and she knows that he’ll at least have the sense to put the civilians’ lives first in the arena. </p>
<p>That’s a small comfort to her as the pair heads into the Justice Building. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>District 5 isn’t a Career District. Its tributes aren’t trained. That’s why Denki doesn’t have much confidence that he’ll survive the Quell when his name is called at the Reaping. He glances over at his friend Jirou in the girls’ area, and sees that she looks as stricken as he feels. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>The Iida family is well-respected and known for being slightly less poor than most of the families living in District 6. Even so, there’s always the risk for their children being chosen at the Reaping. This year is the Reaping that finally sends Tenya to the arena. </p>
<p>He knows that Tensei would volunteer for him if he could. But he can’t, not anymore, and Tenya doesn’t want him to, either. </p>
<p>He would hate to see the person he admires most forced to kill in the arena, or die in the process. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Tooru feels pretty hopeless of her chances of winning the Games when her name is drawn. She doesn’t have a particularly powerful Quirk. Her Quirk only makes her invisible. However, she has learned to swing an axe from the years of living in District 7. She may not win, but she plans to use what she has. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p><em> My life just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it? </em>Hitoshi thinks dryly when his name is called at the Reaping. </p>
<p>There’s no one willing to volunteer for him. He’s been branded with the name “villain” thanks to his Quirk. No one cares for him. His parents died in a factory explosion when he was too young to remember them. (Factory explosions like those aren’t very common in District 8, where the main thing they produce is fabrics, but they do occur.) </p>
<p>There’s no one willing to volunteer for him. There’s no one willing to help him. </p>
<p>So, Hitoshi mounts the stage. </p>
<p>He makes sure to keep his face perfectly blank and devoid of emotion. Years of insults and jeers and ostracization have taught him to perfect a poker face, keeping his inner feelings locked behind a mask. The bags under his eyes due to insomnia probably help with his “I’m done with your shit and I’m ready to kill someone” look, too. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Mina thinks her Quirk is dangerous enough, but she doesn’t know if she has the stomach to kill someone with it. It would sure be a gruesome way to go, being melted to death, dissolving into acid. The Career Tributes would probably have no qualms about such a thing, but this isn’t a Career District. This is District 9, a district that simply grows grain, not trains killers. </p>
<p>As she walks up to the stage, after her name is drawn, Mina catches sight of Kirishima. </p>
<p>They’re friends in school, and he simply looks devastated to see her mount the stage, preparing to head to the arena. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Koji has always been a person of few words, unless it’s talking to animals. His Quirk comes in handy in District 10, talking to the livestock raised on the farm of the wild animals roaming around. </p>
<p>That’s why there are so little words for him to say when his name is drawn at the Reaping. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Ochako is a simple farm girl living in District 11. Most people think of her as innocent and cheerful due to her soft, bright appearance. But she’s always thought that farm life and the harsh district life of poverty toughened her up through the years. </p>
<p>Now’s the time to test that theory, as “Uraraka Ochako!” is called out at the Reaping. </p>
<p>By the looks of it, no one’s going to volunteer. Ochako’s pretty sure that her parents are crying at the back. </p>
<p>But she knows that she now needs to be strong. She’s headed for an arena where the strongest survive. So, she keeps her back straight and head up as she strides to the stage. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku knows that many tears will be shed in the Justice Building, where goodbyes are said. </p>
<p>Mom is his first visitor, which is unsurprising. Both of them cry for the first half of the five minutes they’re given, before Izuku manages to wrangle his tears under control and quickly explain to Mom how things will now work, as he’s now headed into the arena with Akari and only one of them can head out. He does quite a bit of fast talking at the end, but Izuku manages to get all his instructions out to Mom. As she’s leaving, Mom gives Izuku one last hug. Izuku knows that under any other circumstances, she would demand him that he come home, no matter what. But now, coming home means Akari’s death, and Mom knows that she can’t ask that of him. Instead, a hug is all that she gives him. </p>
<p>His next visitor is Miro, bringing Eri with him. Eri cries throughout the entire visiting session and Izuku holds her, as he quickly discusses plan changes with Mirio to keep everyone in their deal fed through hunting. Mirio, usually so cheerful, is grim when he vehemently tells Izuku that the victor of the 100th Hunger Games better be from District 12. And Izuku understands. He understands that one of them might die earlier off, leaving the other to freely kill and claw their way to victory. Even if Izuku and Akari are the last ones standing, the Capitol will still get its victor. The loss will be difficult, but they’ll find a way to push through. Mirio and Eri both give Izuku a hug and Mirio tries his best to smile at Izuku when he leaves, carrying Eri. Izuku tears up when the door closes. </p>
<p>The visitor after that is Tamaki, which isn’t surprising in its least. There’s the quick discussion of changes to the hunting schedules, but after that, they sit in silence. Tamaki has always been someone who doesn’t speak much. Before he leaves, though, Tamaki surprises Izuku by wrapping his arms around his shoulders, which Izuku quickly reciprocates, before letting go and leaving. Quiet, introverted Tamaki going out of his way to offer comfort almost gets Izuku crying again. </p>
<p>When the door opens again, Akari’s mother and younger sister, Haruna and Akane, come in. Izuku’s familiar with them from the years of arriving at their door with Akari to deliver fresh game. There’s not much to say, but they still talk, and Izuku’s glad that they came to see him. </p>
<p>Izuku’s next visitor is Sousaki, bringing Kouta with her. She’s surprisingly tearful, choking out, “You’ve saved Kouta again. I can’t do anything to repay you.” </p>
<p>“You don’t need to do anything,” Izuku reassures her. “I saw someone who needed help, and I acted.” </p>
<p>Sousaki clears her throat. “I’ll try my best to look after Mirio and Tamaki. Make sure they aren’t doing anything too reckless out there. And I’ll see what I can do for your families.” </p>
<p>“Thank you. Really.” </p>
<p>She shakes her head. “No, thank <em> you </em>.” She reaches into a pocket and pulls out something small and circular, and hands it to Izuku. His eyes widen when he sees it in detail. </p>
<p>It’s a small, gold pin. It’s a ring of gold with something fastened to it at the edges. He takes a closer look and sees that the shape fastened to it vaguely resembles a rabbit head, attached to the ring by the tips of its long ears and the bottom of its snout. Its eyes are deep green stones. It looks like it could be enough to buy a family bread for months. </p>
<p>“You can wear one thing to the arena from your district. A token.” Sousaki forces a smile. </p>
<p>“I-I can’t take this, Sousaki,” Izuku says, holding it out for her to take it. “It’s clearly valuable. You could use it for so much.” </p>
<p>Sousaki closes his fingers over the pin. “Keep it,” she says. “What you’ve done is far more valuable to me than that pin.” </p>
<p>Izuku’s throat is closing up again. “Thank you,” he whispers. </p>
<p>There’s silence between them for the rest of the visit. Before they leave, Izuku gives Kouta a hug and is surprised to see him silently crying as he mutters a quiet “Thank you.” </p>
<p>Smiling very faintly, Izuku gives Sousaki his last goodbye. When the door closes behind him, he finally feels the weight of everyone’s worry for him sitting in his chest, hurting and warming him at the same time. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>For some strange reason, all of District 13 is buzzing more than expected at the footage of the Reaping. Sure, it’s the Reaping of a very “special” anniversary, but it’s just that: a Reaping, which happens every year. </p>
<p>Toshinori coughs as he heads down to Command. As a victor, and as a sign of rebellion, he’s quite valuable to District 13 and the rebels, and given that they’re the ones who convinced him to fake his death and leave behind his students, some of the few people he truly cares about, they have no reason to keep any information from him. Well, that fact that his failing health needed better treatment than what was available in District 12 was another reason he left, but it doesn’t change that fact that young Izuku and Akari are still out there, braving the woods, while Toshinori is here hiding in District 13. </p>
<p>Surprisingly, there’s a large group of people gathered in Command already. President Nezu of District 13 is present as well. </p>
<p>“Ah, Yagi!” Nezu calls cheerfully. “I was just about to call for you to come to Command.” </p>
<p>“What’s all this about?” Toshinori asks carefully. “The entire district seems rattled about something.” </p>
<p>“That would be the Reaping,” Nezu says, taking a sip of his tea. “You haven’t seen the live footage yet?” </p>
<p>“No, I have not.” </p>
<p>“Well, for everyone here who hasn’t seen the Reapings yet, I will play the recorded footage.” Nezu presses a few buttons on the keyboard next to him, and the large screen on the side of the wall brightens. “There have been a few anomalies this year.”  </p>
<p>Toshinori watches the Reapings of each district. He can’t seem to spot anything too out of place, other than that most of the Career Tributes look younger than eighteen and that the District 4 female tribute who volunteered doesn’t look eighteen either. The Reapings for each district play by, until they reach District 12. </p>
<p>The name of a twelve-year old girl is called, and Toshinori can see the unease rippling through the crowd. But then, someone calls out, “I volunteer as tribute!” and the person runs forwards. </p>
<p>Toshinori feels shock run through his veins, turning his blood to ice. Because not only has it been years and years since District 12 has had a volunteer, but the person running to volunteer is Akari, one of the students he used to mentor. </p>
<p>The Reaping continues. </p>
<p>When the name of a twelve year-old boy is called, yet another person yells, “I volunteer as tribute!” as he runs forward to take the place of the twelve year-old. </p>
<p>If seeing Akari volunteer caused Toshinori’s blood to turn to ice, then seeing Izuku volunteer shatters his frozen blood into fragments that piece the center of his heart. </p>
<p>
  <em> Both of you. Both of you are too heroic for your own good.  </em>
</p>
<p>The rest of the Reaping plays by. The citizens of District 12, instead of clapping when the Reaping ends, give the tributes the silent salute of thanks and admiration often seen in funerals. </p>
<p>Nezu lets the footage play to its end, then turns to face the room. “As you can see here,” he states, ignorant to Toshinori’s inner turmoil, “the clear anomaly is that both of District 12’s tributes are volunteers. In a District where the children are weak and starved, and are simply grateful that they’re not the ones headed into the Games, both tributes of the fourth Quarter Quell are volunteers, making them outliers.” </p>
<p>“They volunteered for two twelve year-olds,” says Sasaki, a commanding officer and District 13 agent with a foresight Quirk. “It’s understandable.” </p>
<p>“Yes, but people across the country have noticed,” Nezu says. “They’ve taken note of the two brave tributes putting themselves in danger to save two young children. Especially since this Quell’s twist on the rules has elements of heroism in it, it makes these two tributes stand out even more. The Games haven’t even started, and already tributes are acting like heroes? They’re noticing that people are risking their lives to save others, and that they can do the same for their loved ones. This is a chance.” </p>
<p>“You’re saying,” Toshinori says hoarsely, pushing the shock and fear to the back of his mind for later, “that this is another chance at revolution.” </p>
<p>“Exactly,” Nezu replies. “When you first became a victor in the year before the third Quell, you spouted ideas of heroism and goodness onstage, in a place where brutality and cold-bloodedness were supposed to reign supreme. You smiled in the face of hopelessness. You were a symbol that showed that maybe, people could live better lives than what they currently had. And we took notice. We acted.” </p>
<p>“But it was mostly an act,” Toshinori says quietly. “I was angry. I was angry at the Capitol, and I wanted them to see that they hadn’t crushed my spirit. So I smiled and I fought.” </p>
<p>“Be as that may, Nezu says, “people still saw. And they’re seeing the same thing reflected in these young heroes.” </p>
<p>The room of people is silent now, watching the exchange between Nezu and Toshinori. </p>
<p>“But the revolution failed, didn’t it?” Toshinori states. “Nana and I were thrown back into the arena the next year, and the attempt to blow out the force field and break us out failed. You were forced to retreat, and I was forced to wait until the rest of them were killed to once again be pronounced victor.” </p>
<p>“Yes, it did fail,” Nezu says quietly, recognizing the hurt that’s now rising to Toshinori’s surface. “But now, we have a second chance.” </p>
<p>Nezu sits up straighter in his chair, and arranges his paws in front of him. “We don’t know how far the spark that’s been created will spread, but we’re hoping that it will spread far and result in another chance for an arena breakout - a hopefully successful one this time,” he says, addressing the entire room. At the mention of the tributes - his students - escaping, some of the weight in Toshinori’s chest lifts. “The news of the breakout will hopefully be enough to send the entire country into a revolt, creating a fire that the Capitol will find difficult to put out. If not, then we will do what we can fuel the flames. It’s been almost twenty-six years since we’ve last had a chance, so we won’t let this one go to waste. </p>
<p>“At the moment, though, all we can do is observe. Our agents are getting into position at the Capitol, and we’ll first wait for news from them. We’ll see how the tributes act in the days leading up to the Games. On the night of the interviews, we’ll get a chance to see how hot we can really fan the flames. </p>
<p>“People are angry. They’re angry at the idea that innocent district citizens other than the tributes are being sent to die, even though the tributes have the chance to rescue them. Already, two children have been rescued by a pair of tributes, and they’re not even in the arena yet. People have noticed, we have noticed, and we will do everything in our power to bring down the ones responsible for the deaths of children.” </p>
<p>It’s an empowering speech, Toshinori has to say. </p>
<p>After final matters are cleared up and roles and assignments have been handed out, the meeting’s members stand up to leave. But Toshinori lingers. He heads over to the computer where Nezu was playing the footage as the others file out and while Nezu cleans up some papers in a corner of the room, and plays back the footage until he reaches a shot of District 12’s tributes standing on either side of the escort. </p>
<p>Izuku and Akari both look older since Toshinori last saw them. That’s to be expected, he supposes. Toshinori’s hand drifts to hover in front of the screen. His students are now symbols of a growing rebellion, and it hurts, the fact that he wasn’t there with them as they grew up. </p>
<p><em> You’ve come so far, </em> Toshinori thinks. <em> I should have known that you couldn’t stop from meddling in business that didn’t concern you. I should have known that you would one day be great heroes.  </em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Riding the train away</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Bakugou is so difficult to write asdfasdkjfalskjf apologies if I absolutely butcher his character in this</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Izuku stares out the window of his room as the train pulls out from the station and lets the tears he had been holding in finally spill. Akari’s probably in her own room, and so far, none of them have spoken to each other since the Reaping. </p><p>They’re enemies now. </p><p>Both of them understand that only one can leave the arena alive, and both of them think that it should be the other. Both of them will fight to have the other return, and they’ll have to fight the other’s intentions. </p><p>The person that’s always had Izuku’s back in the woods is his enemy now, and he’ll do his very best to win this fight and send Akari home.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Before they’re called down to dinner, Izuku changes out of his Reaping outfit into something looser and more comfortable on the train. He keeps his scarf, though, which still has Sousaki’s pin on it, wrapping it neatly around his neck and shoulders so it won’t fall into the food when they’re eating. </p><p>At dinner, Kayama keeps up with a background chatter while the others eat without responding. Izuku simply enjoys the meal, having never seen such fancy dishes or so much food on one table before. Besides, who knows how much food will be in the arena, so he might as well eat while he still can. He casts a hunter’s eye over the dishes, wondering what ingredients from District 12 he could use if he were to recreate these dishes. He can tell that Akari’s doing the same beside him, and he keeps up a steady stream of muttered observations to her, Akari agreeing or disagreeing with him through short, quiet replies. </p><p>Once all the dishes have been cleared away and Izuku can’t eat anymore, Aizawa, who has been completely silent throughout the entire meal, knocks on the table to draw attention. </p><p>“Alright, you two,” he says gruffly. “I’m not one for waffling around, so I’ll get straight to the chase as your mentor. You want to learn how to survive in the arena, I’m sure.” </p><p>Izuku and Akari both nod, not speaking. </p><p>“Okay. Well, first things first. Before you get to the arena, you’ll have to deal with other matters. Being paraded around the Capitol in the chariot rides, interviews, you probably know.” </p><p>Aizawa explains to them about the stylists and looking good for the chariot rides, and about sponsors. Izuku carefully listens, almost wishing he had something to write everything down. Aizawa covers everything up to training in the Training Center, saying that they’ll “cover it once the first day is over”. </p><p>After dinner, they gather around a television - not one of those ratty old boxes they have in District 12, but a large one with a sleek, thin screen - to watch the recorded Reapings of each district. </p><p>Izuku wishes he had something to take notes on. One of the few things he really appreciated about going to school was that he had something to write with. </p><p>There’s nothing really special about the District 1 tributes - even appearance isn’t that big of a deal when they live in a world full of many different Quirks. However, there is something special about District 2’s male tribute. </p><p>The name of the male tribute is Bakugou Katsuki. </p><p>Izuku’s insides freeze over in shock as he watches Kacchan, who looks older and worn by Peacekeeper training, mount the stage. </p><p>
  <em> Please volunteer, someone. Anyone! I don’t want to have to watch Kacchan die, or even kill him myself.  </em>
</p><p>But no one volunteers. </p><p>Kacchan is escorted into the Justice Building along with the District 2 female tribute, before the footage moves on to the Reaping of District 3. </p><p>Izuku watches the rest of the Reapings, but his mind isn’t there. His mind instead lingers on the image of Kacchan mounting the stage and heading to the Justice Building - into the Games - and the fact that there’s a good chance he’ll have to face him in the arena. </p><p>Izuku thinks that he’s stronger than he was before. He at least has a better chance at survival than when he was younger. He’s now had archery training, and hunting in the woods has given him an edge that he didn’t have before. But Kacchan was also strong, and Izuku doesn’t doubt that he’s only grown stronger. </p><p>When they finish watching the rest of the footage of the Reapings (Izuku also had to watch District 12’s Reaping at the end, and it’s as painful watching the footage as it was watching Akari volunteer in person and having to volunteer himself), Aizawa leaves to go to bed, and Kayama also leaves the room with a reminder to be at breakfast the next morning. </p><p>Izuku sits still in front of the dark screen. The recording of District 2’s Reaping plays over and over in his head. </p><p>“Izuku?” Akari asks, noticing his distress. </p><p>“Akari, I didn’t get any of that,” Izuku mutters quietly. “How much did you get?” </p><p>“A couple names, but that’s it. I didn’t have anything to write them down, so I’ll probably forget them. Besides, they only gave out names during the Reaping, not Quirks or skill level. We’ll get to see those during and after training. We’ll get other chances,” she replies. “Are you okay?” </p><p>“I told you and Toshinori about him once,” Izuku whispers, still dazed. “I told you about how we were childhood friends, but we fell apart after he got a Quirk and I didn’t. I told you about how he left District 12.” </p><p>“Yeah. You told us you called him ‘Kacchan’.” </p><p>“That was him. At the District 2 Reaping. Bakugou Katsuki.” </p><p>“You mean -” Akari starts, before the implications of Izuku’s words sink in. “Oh shit.” </p><p>“Yeah.” Izuku slumps against the couch. “If we want to get out of the arena alive, we’ll have to outlast Kacchan, who’s now a Career Tribute.” </p><p>He wonders what Mom would think about this. She would mostly definitely root for him, but she’ll undoubtedly feel conflicted when she sees that Kacchan will have to die in order for him - or Akari - to live. What is she thinking right now, anyway? Would she even have the strength to eat the meal that Izuku had spent hours hunting for in the woods? There is surely enough for her to already worry about without adding thoughts of Kacchan to her mind.</p><p>What about Kacchan’s parents? Would they resent him if Kacchan dies?</p><p>Akari doesn’t speak, but she rests a hand on his shoulder. </p><p>There’s nothing appropriate for the situation they’re in to say. Izuku will have to either watch his childhood friend die in the arena or kill him. He will be scanning the night sky for Kacchan’s face in the death reports. </p><p>It’s a choice now. Kacchan or Akari. </p><p>This choice feels like it’s tearing Izuku’s heart in half. But he’ll choose Akari, because she’s always been there for him. He’ll have to leave his childhood friend turned bully behind if he wants his close friend / hunting partner to go home. </p><p>Ah, well. It’s not like Izuku himself will leave the arena alive either. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Those two are bright, Shouta thinks as he walks back to his room. Paying tight attention to what he said, wanting to learn how to survive, agreeing to do the unpleasant if it meant a shot at survival in the arena. </p><p>Hopefully, this year, he won’t have to watch them die. </p><p>President Nezu had managed to send him a coded message telling him of the unease sparked in the districts, not only of the idea of people other than the tributes being sent into the arena, but of the sight of District 12’s tributes volunteering to save the lives of two young children. </p><p>The day the fire broke out in the Victors’ Village, Shouta had met Nezu as he bargained with him and Yagi, telling them about the underground District 13 and their request for him and Yagi to join the rebels. Shouta had thought it was a scam, but he was convinced otherwise when Nezu had explained that the explosion in the 3rd Quarter Quell wasn’t an arena trap as the Gamemakers led the audience to believe, but instead, the rebels’ failed attempt to break the tributes out of the arena. Yagi had also explained the way Shimura Nana and some of the other tributes would push him around the arena in the Quell, as if they were planning something behind his back. Puzzle pieces that Shouta hadn’t even noticed started falling into place, and he had no choice but to agree that it was true. District 13 was out there and trying to bring down the Capitol. </p><p>There hadn’t been much over the last few years. Shouta would sometimes speak to District 13’s officials (even learning the code that District 13’s secret agents used to confirm identity with each other, “Plus ultra”), but for the last couple years, his assignment had stayed the same: look after your district, look out for signs of unrest.   </p><p>But this year might finally be the year that his assignment changed. It was hell in order to mentor two teenagers and then send them into the arena, only to watch them die, and this might be the year that it changed. </p><p>Lost in thought, Shouta almost crashes into Kayama in the hallway. She laughs it off and jokes about how his sleep-deprivation was getting to him, and insists on walking him down the train hallway to his room. </p><p>Shouta doesn’t mind Kayama as much as some of the other Capitol escorts. She was only assigned to District 12 a few years ago, and is much fairer to the tributes than some of the other escorts Shouta’s seen. </p><p>As Kayama opens the door to his room and pushes him in, she leans in oddly close, her cheery, bright expression falling off her face. Shouta’s about to pull away, confused, but then he hears her low murmur of, “Plus ultra.” </p><p>He has enough time to whisper, “Plus ultra” back before Kayama pulls away with a bright laugh, facade back on, and closes his door. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Katsuki keeps the expletives to a minimum as he listens to his mentor talk at dinner. He knows that it’s valuable advice, and he’ll need all the help he can get if he wants to get home. </p><p>After dinner, they gather in front of the television for the recording of the other Reapings. As the footage plays, Katsuki watches the tributes being called up, searching for Districts 1 and 4 for the people who’ll be his allies in the arena. </p><p>The rest of the Reapings scroll by, and they reach District 12. Something in him clenches at the sight of his old home, even years after leaving, even after watching the recordings of the Reapings held there since he moved to District 2. </p><p>He may be an asshole, but even he’s not heartless enough to not feel pity for the twelve year-old girl being called up to the stage. But then there’s a yell of “I volunteer as tribute!” as a teenager sprints forward to push the twelve year-old behind her. </p><p>Katsuki’s eyebrows jump up. A volunteer in one of the outer districts is extremely rare. Normally, people are just relieved that they aren’t the ones being sent to a fight to the death. </p><p>He watches the volunteer mount the stage, watches the child be led away by someone else. Soon, the name of another twelve year-old is called at the Reaping, and the slightest wince of pity crosses Katsuki’s face. </p><p>“I volunteer as tribute!” </p><p>His heart almost stops. Katsuki knows that voice. </p><p>
  <em> Deku?  </em>
</p><p>Sure enough, there’s the familiar mess of green hair as he moves forward to take the place of the child. Yet, there’s something unfamiliar about Deku. </p><p>
  <em> What the fuck?  </em>
</p><p>Deku looks...different. It’s not just that he’s much older since they last saw each other. There’s something about him. Maybe it’s the way he carries himself, more sure of himself than Katsuki’s seen before. </p><p>
  <em> What the fuck are you doing? You’re Quirkless! You’ll die on the first day in the arena! </em>
</p><p>The camera manages to catch a shot of Deku’s face, and Katsuki narrows his eyes at Deku’s expression. </p><p>It’s one of resolve. Deku knows what he’s getting into, just as Katsuki knew what he was getting into when he signed up for the Peacekeeper training. </p><p>Despite that little spark of uncertainty in him, Katsuki scoffs internally at the scene before him. Deku’s Quirkless, and he probably won’t last long at all in the arena. However, Katsuki doesn’t know if he has the willpower to kill Deku, someone who was weak, yet was his friend. </p><p>
  <em> Alright, Deku. I won’t kill you myself, but I hope you know that I’ll be the one to leave this hellhole.  </em>
</p><p>What are his parents thinking right now, seeing Deku heading into the Games? What is Inko thinking right now? </p><p>What will Deku think when he sees that Katsuki’s a tribute in the Quell? </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Izuku wakes up the next morning to Kayama knocking on his door, yelling about how, “It’s a big, big, day!” loud enough to wake up most of the train. </p><p>Shaking the grogginess out of his limbs and blinking it out of his eyes, Izuku crawls out the bed and gets dressed. Going to sleep last night hasn't been easy. Everything about the train is so different from what he’s used to in District 12. Everything from the stupidly plush living quarters to the food to the accommodations. And they haven’t even gotten to the Capitol yet. </p><p>And there's still the Games to worry about.</p><p>He dresses in the same outfit from yesterday, scarf still around his neck, pin still on the scarf. If he’s going into the Capitol, he might as well keep at least some things from District 12, as a reminder of the ones who care about him, back home. </p><p>Akari is already at the table, as well as Aizawa, when Izuku walks in with Kayama bustling around behind him. </p><p>“Sit down, sit down,” Aizawa tiredly says, lazily waving a hand at the table. </p><p>Izuku complies, sitting down next to Akari and pulling a plate towards him, piling it with whatever catches his eye at the ridiculously large selection of food at the table. </p><p>“Alright,” begins Aizawa when Izuku settles down and starts on his food. “So, first things first, like I said last night. You’ve seen previous Games before, you know that before the tributes head into the arena, there are all these unnecessary extravagant shows, beginning with the chariot rides.” </p><p>Izuku nods. </p><p>“Well, before the chariot rides, you’ll have to go through a bunch of wildly unpleasant processes with your prep team and stylists,” says Aizawa. “Chances are, you’re not going to like it. But no matter what, you can’t resist, because their job is to make you look presentable, which will help with getting sponsors in the arena. Your appearance does a lot when trying to win sponsors and support from the audience. Understand?” </p><p>More nods. </p><p>“Good. We can talk more about training and whatnot about surviving the arena after you survive the chariot rides.” And then he doesn’t say another word for the rest of the meal, instead finishing off his food and then pulling out a yellow sleeping bag from under the table and wrapping himself up in it. Kayama sighs dramatically when he just goes straight to sleep on the floor of the dining room. It’s actually kind of amusing, watching a Capitol resident look so annoyed at a district resident’s disregard for social rules or whatever restrictions they have about not sleeping in dining rooms at the Capitol.</p><p>Izuku’s not particularly worried about stylists. He thinks he can take it, with all the rough years hunting in the woods. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>If this goes on for much longer, Izuku is going to lose his mind. </p><p>They’ve arrived in the Capitol and he’s been in the same room for what he gauges to be about three hours, and only now has the prep team deemed him presentable enough to meet his stylist. They’ve just left to deliver the news, leaving Izuku alone in the mostly empty room, wondering how much longer he’s going to have to wait. </p><p>The door to the room opens, and a tall man dressed in a suit and tie with glasses walks in. Izuku sits up straighter on the table. He doesn’t know what he expected at the word stylist, but this isn’t exactly the image he had in mind. This stylist’s image is strangely simple, unlike some of the stylists he’s seen in previous Games, with their brightly dyed hair and garish appearances. He knows that Quirks alter people’s appearances, but the fashion style of the Capitol tends to get ridiculous. </p><p>“Hello, Midoriya Izuku,” the man says, holding a hand out for Izuku to shake. He warily accepts it. “I’m Sasaki Mirai, and as you probably know by now, I’m going to be your stylist for this year’s Hunger Games.” </p><p>“It’s nice to meet you,” Izuku says cautiously. He doesn’t know what to think of Saski at the moment. </p><p>“I’m sure you’re getting tired of this room, so why don’t we have lunch and discuss over a meal?” </p><p>Despite his distaste for most Capitol residents, Izuku cautiously decides that this one isn’t so bad. “Sure,” he replies, pushing himself off the table and landing on his feet. </p><p>Sasaki nods and Izuku follows him out of the room, feeling unprotected and exposed wearing only what seems like a paper-thin hospital robe. He’d been ordered to leave everything from the train and his district behind, including his scarf and the pin. He wishes he was wearing his hunting jacket. It would make himself feel more secure. Having a bow would suffice as well. </p><p>They walk into a room with large windows opening up to a view of the city, allowing sunlight to stream in and illuminate the room. Sasaki leads them to a table in the center of the room, with two large couches on either side. He sits at one of them and motions for Izuku to sit across from him. Unsure of what Sasaki has in mind, Izuku complies. </p><p>At the press of a button, the tabletop splits and a second tabletop rises from underneath it, carrying their lunch. The extravagance of the Capitol never fails to simultaneously amaze and annoy and disgust Izuku. Here, they get large courses full of exotic and strange ingredients that they can barely finish, while at home, they scavenge and scrape together what they can for a simple meal. </p><p>“You must see us as savages,” Sasaki says, tone unreadable, as Izuku observes the meal in front of them. When Izuku jolts and looks up at him, he continues, “Sending your people to the slaughter, lavishing in our goods while you starve, watching children die for entertainment.” </p><p>Izuku flounders around, not knowing what to say. He never thought he’d see the day where a Capitol resident would be acknowledging the suffering the district residents went through while they lived in extravagance. </p><p>No doubt taking note of Izuku’s lack of response, Sasaki sits up and says, “Well, back to the business at hand, right? Outfits for the chariot rides.” </p><p>Izuku nods, relieved to be moving on to something that he expected and not having to flounder around after being caught off guard by the stylist.</p><p>District 12’s industry is coal mining, and outfits based around it tend to be unattractive, to say the least. What doesn’t help is that Izuku barely knows anything about the mines other than what’s taught at school. Back home, his mind’s been preoccupied with the woods and the outdoors, not underground corridors filled with coal dust. He knew that he would have ended up in the mines when he turned eighteen, but what always had first priority in his head was hunting. </p><p>“District 12. Coal mining,” Sasaki states. “I know that your district theme has had quite a few unpleasant portrayals throughout the years. However, there is one idea that my partner and I can’t believe hasn’t been done before, and we have decided to try it out. You see, it involves what coal is used for, rather than just the extraction of raw coal from the earth.” </p><p>“Right,” Izuku answers. He doesn’t know if he’s dreading the result or excited for it. </p><p>“You’re not afraid of fire, are you?” </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Wearing flames</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is just the chariot rides and a bunch of reactions to it, so sorry if it gets a little redundant.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“You’re seeing this, right?” Akari asks as they stand in the lowest level of the Remake Center, next to the coal-black horses that will be pulling their chariot into the City Circle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. I am,” Izuku replies faintly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For once, District 12’s outfits don’t look completely hopeless. Both of them are dressed in simple outfits that are all black, covering everything from their necks down. Izuku’s mess of hair is somewhat tamed and pulled back from his face and Akari has her hair pinned up on her head in an intricate series of braids, and both of them are wearing the bare minimum of makeup on their faces. And of course, both of them have light yellow capes streaming from their shoulders, which are meant to set on fire before they ride out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izuku is absolutely terrified. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There is plenty to be afraid of. He’s about to be paraded in front of the entire country as a tribute of District 12, riding a horse-drawn chariot. Those chariots don’t look particularly safe, seeming to be built more for appearances than safety. They’re drawn on two wheels, and the back is open. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There’s also the fact that before riding out on that unstable-looking chariot, they’re going to be set on fire. Izuku hasn’t always had the best experiences around flames. The last time a fire went out of control around him was when Akari had to save him and Toshinori from a forest fire. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And there’s the other tributes, milling around the large room. Kacchan is near the other side of the room, and the Izuku’s the closest in proximity to him since they were eight. Well, he supposes that it’s a good thing that the other tributes don’t seem very preoccupied with them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think this whole ‘being set on fire thing’ will be safe?” Izuku murmurs to his district partner. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh. Worse comes to worse, I can put out the flames,” Akari answers. “But I don’t know if they’ll be using fake fire or real fire. Fake fire might be problematic for me. But if I push the flames away from the bases of the capes, we can rip them off without major injuries.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll rip your cape off, you rip mine off?” Izuku offers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure. That works.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the sound of approaching footsteps, Izuku turns to see their stylists walking towards them. Sasaki is holding what appears to be a lit torch, the fire casting orange light around it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is just synthetic fire. It won’t burn you,” he says once they’re in earshot, nodding towards the torch he’s holding. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not trusting his voice to shake from nervousness, Izuku nods. The announcement for all tributes to mount their chariots then sounds across the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He walks around the back of the chariot and shakily steps into the basket, gripping the side of the basket for stability. It rocks slightly under his feet, and he tightens his grip on the side. The basket shifts again when Akari mounts the chariot, which doesn’t do much to reassure him of its stability. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In front of them, the doors to the level open to the roar of the crowd outside and Yuuei’s national anthem blaring out, and the first chariots begin to move outside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Smile for the audience,” Sasaki says as he walks over to them and stands behind the audience, and Izuku </span>
  <em>
    <span>feels</span>
  </em>
  <span> him touch the torch to their capes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>feels</span>
  </em>
  <span> the flames flare up behind them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What surprises him most is that the flames don’t burn. There’s the sensation of movement and moving air behind them, but there’s no heat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As their chariot begins to move, Izuku hears Sasaki shout, “Hold hands!” over the din of the music and the crowd outside, and then they’re pulling away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Hold hands?’ Why?” Akari asks, looking over to Izuku. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No idea,” he replies, as he reaches over, extending his free hand. His other hand is currently wrapped in a death grip on the chariot’s railing on the side, and he’s slightly relieved when Akari takes his offered hand. It feels more stable this way, and less like he’s about to fall off the back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The crowd’s roar of “District 12!” is deafening when they emerge from the Training Center. Izuku catches sight of them, projected on one of the large screens hovering in the air, and he admits that he can see why. The fire illuminates their faces, and literally makes them glow. The minimal makeup they’re wearing only serves to make their faces clearer and more recognizable, especially with flames streaming out from behind them. For a second, he almost forgets his fear as he practically breathes in the wild energy surrounding the audience.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remembering what Sasaki said, Izuku straightens up and puts on his best smile. He may be surrounded by people who can’t wait to watch him die, but he knows how to smile convincingly. What’s more, this is broadcast across the country and there's no doubt that Mom and the rest of his hunting team is watching this back home, and he needs to reassure them that he’s okay. He hesitantly lifts a hand to wave at the crowd, tensing as it means he has one less hand to hold onto something and keep him from falling off the chariot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A quick sideways glance at Akari assures Izuku that she’s okay. She has her lips pulled back in a half-smile, half-snarl, and it’s honestly kind of scary to see, especially as she waves at the audience with an almost challenging look on her face, as if daring them to do anything while she's watching. It has a strange, feral effect, looking like she wouldn't mind firing arrows into their heads if she had a bow and quiver of arrows with her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The audience’s cheers for District 12 are practically drowning out those for the other districts. As Izuku lets his eyes roam around the crowd watching them from both sides, he feels a bit of hope flare in him. Not a lot, but it’s there. The stylists have made the pair of them unforgettable. Surely, there must be at least one sponsor willing to help them. And with a little extra help, the right weapons, and some training, why should District 12’s tributes count themselves out of the Games? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The horses pull their chariot all the way up to the President’s mansion at the City Circle. The President himself is standing at an elevated podium, wearing a crisp black suit with his face and head obscured by the black mask and helmet, but Izuku can feel his gaze like a physical weight, and he knows that the President is observing this year’s tributes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After all the chariots have completed their loop around the City Circle and are making their way back into the Remake Center, Izuku realizes just how tightly he’s been gripping Akari’s hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Izuku tries to loosen his grip, Akari says, “No, don’t let go yet. I might fall out of this thing.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what makes you think I won’t fall out of the chariot?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know. But if I fall out, at least I’ll drag you out with me and I won’t be the only one who looks stupid in front of all of Yuuei.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their chariot makes its way all the way back into the Remake Center, and the doors close behind them, muffling and blocking out the noise of the Capitol audience and the last strains of music. Immediately, their prep teams and stylists are on them, laughing and cheering about their big debut in the Capitol. Even Aizawa and Kayama are there, hanging back, as their stylists help them down from the chariot. Sasaki extinguishes the flaming capes with a spray from a canister. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Amazing! You truly were on fire this time!” Kayama says, and laughs at her own joke. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s great,” Izuku mumbles, as he pries his fingers out of the death grip they were previously locked in, and tries to rub some feeling back into them. Akari does the same beside him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As a group, they head up to go to the Training Center, and Izuku does his best to try and ignore the glares from the other tributes burning into his back. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Katsuki scowls as Deku’s retreating back as he leaves the stables with the rest of the District 12 team. The District 12 tributes had drawn all of the Capitol’s attention during the chariot parade, and he won’t lie, their outfits don’t look half bad. He almost wishes he had something similar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But they had drawn in the audience, and he knows that if tributes get the audience to stack the odds in their favor, they have a better chance at winning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had seen the pair. He had seen Deku smiling and waving at the crowd, as if they weren’t bloodthirsty savages waiting for them to die. Deku smiled, knowing that earning their favor would be an asset to him in the arena. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps he underestimated him. Deku actually might be dangerous. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Todoroki?” Yaoyorozu asks from beside him. “Are you okay?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” Shouto replies flatly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You seemed preoccupied.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shouto pauses for a few seconds, still staring in the direction of the District 12 tributes. “District 12 had some...very interesting turnabouts this year,” he says. “First, the volunteer situation, and now this?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The outer district tributes really aren’t that dangerous,” Yaoyorozu says. “Most of them die in the first few days. These two shouldn’t be that different.” Her voice is controlled, but Shouto and detect a bit of a waver in it. Maybe she’s like him, hating the fact that she needs to murder, but understanding that it must be done if they want to survive. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe,” he says, thinking back to the way they held themselves in front of the Justice Building, in front of an audience. “But I think that they might just be different from the usual tributes we get from the outer districts. Mark my words, they may just end up being a threat.” The raw guilt from the thought of blood on his hands rises in him, hot and burning, before he shoves it back, burying it underneath a smooth sheen of cold. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then again, it may just be the stylists doing,” she comments. “We still have the training scores and the interviews to see just what the tributes are like themselves.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Either way, they’ll end up dead by the Quell’s end,” Shouto says, making sure to keep his voice cold and devoid of emotion. “I don’t think it’ll be too much of a hassle to just hunt them down and kill them on the first night.” He is slightly proud of the way his voice doesn’t shake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll see,” Yaoyorozu says, and her attention is drawn away by their approaching stylists. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shouto very adamantly ignores his annoyance at the fact that the tributes made such a large impression on the audience by wearing flames, his father’s trademark. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Inko can’t stop worrying. She fidgets in front of the television, and Mirio has tried to assure her that it’s only the chariot rides, and that one appearance won’t mean that much. But she’s still worried. District 12’s costumes are almost always awful in their attempt to reflect the district’s industry of coal mining, and often do nothing to win favor from the crowd. Usually, the tributes end up in unattractive coal miner outfits with headlamps. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Although, she’ll admit that the headlamps aren’t too bad. They give a little light, and the illumination is nice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She fidgets more, and Tamaki rests a hand on her shoulder. Inko can’t be more grateful for the company tonight. Not only are Akari’s remaining family, Haruna and Akane, here, but so are Tamaki and Mirio, Izuku’s and Akari’s hunting teammates, and Mirio has Eri balanced in his lap. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, the live feed switches to that of one above the City Circle and the path the parade will take. The doors to the Remake Center open, and the first chariots start to exit as Yuuei’s anthem plays, along with the announcer’s voice over the feed. Inko swallows heavily at the sight of Katsuki at District 2’s chariot. Seeing him in the Reaping footage already prompted lots of tears from her, and it’s not any easier, seeing him in the parade. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>District 11’s chariots leave, and Inko tenses. District 12 is next. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The crowd roars at the sight of District 12’s chariot, and Inko has to take a second to process what she’s seeing. Her heart nearly stops when she recognizes what the light coming off the chariot is. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>fire</span>
  </em>
  <span>, blooming and streaming out behind Izuku’s and Akari’s shoulders like cloaks. While Inko thought the illumination from the headlamps weren’t bad, this takes it to an entirely new level. The flames practically make them glow in the deepening darkness of the twilight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The room they’re in erupts into cheers and whoops, a bit like the crowd on the television, and Inko honestly can’t blame them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are they on fire?” Eri asks disbelievingly and slightly worriedly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, I’m sure that it’s fake fire. It won’t hurt them,” Mirio assures her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The feed changes to a close-up of the pair from District 12. Onscreen, Izuku lifts his head and smiles brightly. Beside him, Akari pulls her lips back in what’s probably meant to be a smile, but ends up being a sort of half-smile, half-snarl that makes her look more intimidating than cheerful like Izuku. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Inko vaguely notes that the pair of them are holding hands, standing up straight. It’s as if they’re facing the world as a team, with smiles twisting their faces and flames at their backs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They certainly look like a team,” Haruna says, and then Inko registers that she’s just said that out loud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They do, don’t they?” Akane says shyly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of the parade is watched in a stunned silence, as their chariot makes its way around the City Circle and all the way back to the Remake Center. When the doors close, blocking out the last strains of the firelight and the feed cuts back to the announcers, the room breaks out into applause. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Inko gazes around her, and sees hope reignited in the faces of those around her. That hope has practically gone out since Akari and Izuku volunteered, but it’s been sparked again. It may just be a spark, but that may be all they need. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That night, Inko goes to bed with the sight of flames illuminating the faces of the people that have been providing for her and those around District 12 - her heroes - burned into her mind. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their rooms in the Training Center are stupidly extravagant, even more so than their train compartments, taking up the entire floor. Each of them has their own large room with a bathroom, all with so many functions that Izuku doesn’t think he’ll have time to use during his stay here. While he’s in his quarters, he strips out of his parade costume, showers, and changes into something more casual before heading down for dinner. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like all his previous meals in Capitol custody, this dinner is course after course of fancy dishes that obviously take a lot of time and resources to prepare. By now, he’s completely given up on trying to figure out how he would recreate them back home. It would probably take up too much time and too many resources when they could settle for something easier and as filling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The others talk while Izuku focuses on the meal, and Akari does the same across from him. The stylists join them for dinner, and they seem to have a formalizing effect on Aizawa and Kayama. They even make small polite talk over dinner, which is much more than Izuku’s seen on the train.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After dinner, everyone gathers in front of the large television to see the footage of tonight’s parade. Of course, many of the other district couples look nice, but none of them can hold a candle to the spectacle that’s District 12’s chariot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who’s idea was the hand holding?” Aizawa asks, after District 12’s chariot comes out of the Remake Center and all the oohs and ahhs have died down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That would be mine,” Sasaki replies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very nice. Very </span>
  <em>
    <span>plus ultra</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Kayama says. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very </span>
  <em>
    <span>plus ultra </span>
  </em>
  <span>indeed. Go beyond, right?” he answers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, yes. Just the perfect touch of rebellion,” Aizawa says flatly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rebellion? What does a rebellion have to do here? These are the Games, and there’s no room for rebellion in a place designed to crush hopes and put out any sparks of rebellion that might flare up. Izuku decides that they’re just being sarcastic, but he admits, the way the two of them are presented sets them aside from both the other district couples, who all stand stiffly without acknowledging their district partners, and the Capitol’s norms as well. Presenting them as allies, not enemies, has a strange effect on their image. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the viewing is over, they split up for the night. Akari suggests that they head up to the roof of the Training Center, where there’s a garden overlooking the city, and Izuku complies. They step into the elevator - which is also extremely extravagant and high-tech, moving at exhilarating speeds and with glass walls - and head up to the roof. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they arrive, Izuku walks out and is immediately drawn in by the sight of the garden, with the flowers and trees illuminated by soft lights. Akari heads for the edge of the roof, and Izuku follows her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t they worried that tributes will just...jump off the building?” he asks as they stop, standing at the very edge of the building and looking out across the Capitol. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. According to Aizawa, if you try to jump, some kind of electrical field will throw you back on the roof,” Akari answers. She sticks her arm out over the drop. There’s a sharp zap and she pulls her arm back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izuku looks down, and the drop is dizzying. He’s never been this high up before, and it hits, just how different this world is from his simplistic life back home. He backs away, and heads over for the garden. Akari follows him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first thing he notices when he nears the garden is the sound of windchimes. Their tinkling and ringing becomes more and more prevalent as he enters the garden, walking between the flowers and trees on either side. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Will their sound drown out anything that the cameras or microphones in this place might pick up?</span>
  </em>
  <span> he wonders. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is probably the safest we’ll get from surveillance,” Akari murmurs. She’s obviously thinking the same thing, and she must think that the sound of the wind and the windchimes is enough to cover their words. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he replies, wandering over to peer at a patch of flowers. After several seconds, he quietly asks, “What do you think tomorrow will bring?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Training, probably,” she answers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few minutes pass in silence, where Akari wanders back to the edge of the rooftop, and Izuku follows her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you think of this Quell?” he finally asks. This is probably the safest place to discuss things like this, and it’s probably the only place where they can talk like this, now that they’re constantly under watch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like I think of all Hunger Games,” Akari answers, somewhat offhandedly but with a trace of bitterness. “Unnecessarily cruel, good for nothing but killing innocent children, and something that there isn’t much of a chance to escape from. What about you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, the same, pretty much,” Izuku replies. “But ‘isn’t much of a chance to escape from’? Where’d you get that from? There is </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span> chance to escape other than winning, period.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course you’d think that,” she mutters. “Look, there is a chance. If some outside force from the districts works to break us out from the arena or even the Training Center, there is a chance. But that’s er...how should I put it...</span>
  <em>
    <span>extremely low</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” She rolls her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izuku sighs, deciding to let this conversation drop for now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door to the rooftop opens, and both of them turn to see Kayama, Aizawa, and Sasaki walking out of the elevator. Izuku blinks in surprise. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’re you kids doing up here? Go to bed, because you have training tomorrow,” Aizawa says. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Akari answers steadily, not giving anything away, and she heads for the elevator doors. Izuku follows her. When they’re in the elevator, he narrows his eyes at the three figures milling around on the rooftop. It’s an odd combination, to say the least. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you think that was a bit too much?” Kayama asks Sasaki once the elevator starts moving down. “Pushing such a bold act in the chariot rides? Y’know, with the fire?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I channel my feelings into my work. This way, I hurt no one but myself,” Sasaki replies. “And while President Nezu’s main orders were for me to keep an eye on the tributes, he suggested that tailoring my work in a little wouldn’t hurt.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even though Kayama passed him messages specifying that the rooftop was secure to talk, or at least safer than anywhere else in the building, Shouta still feels slightly uneasy. While he knows that the windchimes and the wind itself are loud enough so that the microphones can’t overhear them, just talking about something meant to be secret out in the open feels awkward. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you think the districts would react? And do you think the Capitol suspects anything?” Shouta asks cautiously. While he was too young in order to remember the details of the 3rd Quarter Quell and the almost-rebellion that came before, he knows that the idea of fire as a symbol of the rebels was a prevalent one in those times. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s too early to tell, but I think that it will prove for a very interesting year,” Sasaki says. The idea of the arena breakout and the idea of not all of the tributes dying hangs unspoken in the air. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of District 13 is excited for the chariot parade taking place in the Capitol, even more than usual. That’s not surprising, given the result of this year’s Reapings. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toshinori taps a finger impatiently against the table’s surface in Command, as he waits for the tech geniuses of District 13 to do their wizardry and hack into the Capitol’s feeds to get the footage of the parade. Currently, Command is emptier than usual, with only President Nezu and a few other high-ranking District 13 officers milling around, waiting for the screen to come on. Most of the other operatives that would normally be invited to this sort of event are either working or watching from their compartments. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And we’re in. They did it,” Nezu says happily, sitting back in his chair with a cup of tea. The screen switches to a feed over the City Circle, with the parade about to start. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toshinori can remember his own chariot rides, one as an ordinary tribute, one as a victor headed back to the arena as decreed by the 3rd Quarter Quell. Neither of them were enjoyable, dressed in unflattering coal miner outfits. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Yuuei’s anthem begins to play, the doors open and the first chariots begin to exit the Remake Center. He waits for District 12’s chariot while he scans the other chariots. A few do look quite nice, but nothing that made a particularly big impression on him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>District 11’s chariot exits. Toshinori waits, dreading what the stylists made his students look like for this parade. Strangely, he can see what looks to be a warm glow emanating from inside the Remake Center. Then, District 12’s chariot exits, and Toshinori’s jaw drops when he realizes what was the source of the glow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Young Izuku and Akari are cloaked in flames, standing straight and with hands linked. They’re not even wearing much makeup, making their faces all the clearer, and with the firelight illuminating their faces, they look so much more memorable than any of the District 12 tributes that came before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toshinori is shocked at both the display the two of them make, as well as such a blatant call to rebellion for the district people. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the 74th Hunger Games, Toshinori had set fire to a forest in order to kill off a pack of mutts. However, that had saved several other tributes in the arena, something Toshinori was heavily aware of and something that went against the very nature of the Games. Combined with how he constantly smiled in the face of despair and spoke of hope and determination onstage, it was enough to spark something of a rebellion. Nezu explained to him about how fire then became a symbol to the rebels, of how they could burn away the current order holding them down and forge new lives. Of course, the rebellion failed when Toshinori was sent back to the arena in the 3rd Quarter Quell and 75th Hunger Games along with Nana, and was the only one to emerge alive after the breakout failed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This truly is something else, Toshinori thinks, watching Izuku smile with all his teeth and Akari twist her mouth into something that’s a cross between a smile and a snarl. The tributes of District 12, presenting themselves to the Capitol as a united front, wearing the symbol that called so many rebels to action. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>All these years, Toshinori has thought of the Games as ultimately the Capitol’s fault. All the tributes as sheep, being herded into a slaughterhouse to die, with maybe the Career Tributes to weed out the sick and weak sheep like wolves. But he knows that his students are loyal to each other, clever, and skilled, and have only grown stronger since he left. So maybe, this year, there will be a pair of hunters hidden among the sheep and the wolves, while a fire threatens to close in on the slaughterhouse and burn it down. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Friends, allies, and enemies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Izuku’s sleep is permeated with nightmares. His team drifts in and out of focus as Mom cries out for his help, while a fire rages in the background. It all ends with him screaming for Toshinori to run as the Victors’ Village bursts into flames around them, and he wakes with a jolt. </p><p>He can see the sun rising through the curtains, and knows that there’s no going back to sleep for him, not with all the disturbing dreams he’s had and the brightening room. Groaning, he drags himself out of bed and into the bathroom to make himself at least somewhat presentable. On a normal day, he would be getting up and getting ready for the woods. Now, he changes into the simple outfit laid out for him, and heads into the dining room, where an enormous array of breakfast foods is already set out. </p><p>There’s no one else up yet. He shoves some food onto a plate, and eats at the silent dining table while he watches the sun rise slowly over the buildings. Akari wanders in several minutes later. Like him, she seems to still be accustomed to their early rising habits in the district. </p><p>Other than some mumbled greetings and “good morning”s, neither of them talk as they eat. After Izuku’s done with his food, he yawns tiredly and leans his forehead onto the table. Akari doesn’t question it. They’ve been friends and hunting partners for years now, and they know of all the struggles each of them go through and they’ve seen the worst of each other. </p><p>After about half an hour later, when both of them are finished breakfast and are somewhat more awake than before, Aizawa walks into the room looking like he hadn’t slept at all the night before. He responds to their “good morning”s with only a nod and downs an entire mug of coffee before starting on his breakfast. </p><p>“Alright,” he finally says several minutes later. “You want to know about training. First of all, do you want to train together or separately?” </p><p>“Why would we want to train separately?” asks Izuku. </p><p>“If there’s a secret skill you don’t want the other to know about.” </p><p>There’s a pause as both of them turn to look at each other. Izuku can’t think of a reason why they would want to train separately. What do they have to hide? They both know each other’s skill sets from years of hunting and working together. </p><p>“We can train together,” Akari says, seeming to reach the same conclusion as Izuku. </p><p>“Okay. Now, secondly, this is a Quarter Quell, and it works differently from normal Hunger Games. I’m sure you’re aware of that.” </p><p>They both nod. </p><p>“Now, I’m sure we all know, this year’s twist on the rules is that civilians other than the tributes will be put in the arena,” Aizawa continues. “Now, the question is, what are your priorities in this case? Are they to hunt down other tributes or to keep the civilians safe?” </p><p>This is relatively easy to answer. </p><p>“Keep the civilians safe,” Izuku replies. <em> And each other. </em> </p><p>“Alright.” Aizawa pauses, before saying, “I’m not an expert on this, by any means. None of the Games I’ve ever seen involve something like this. So I’m going off what I think, not what I know, understand?” He waits for both of them to nod in reply, then says, “If saving others is your main goal, I suggest you make some allies with the same goal in mind.” </p><p>At first, Izuku wants to argue. Why should they trust anyone else? </p><p>Aizawa says, “It’s easier to work in teams if you want to save people. I don’t know how many other people will be thrown into the arena alongside the tributes, but I’ll assume that there are more civilians than tributes. And no doubt that they’ll be scattered across the arena, in hard-to-reach places. If that’s the case, you’ll need as much help as you can get if you want to save everyone, which is what I’m assuming is your goal. Of course, you’ll eventually have to break off from them, and you’ll constantly have to be on your guard for any signs of a betrayal, but that’s about it.” </p><p>Any arguments that Izuku has dies in his mouth. Aizawa makes a very good point. However, there’s also the emotional toll of killing your former teammates that goes unspoken, but that’s something they’ll deal with after meeting the tributes. </p><p>“We understand,” Akari says tonelessly. “But...just talking to each other in training? That’s how we make allies?” </p><p>“Most alliances are decided on before entering the arena. Getting to know each other when you actually have time to chat it up is the best option to forming alliances. Groups that are haphazardly thrown together in the arena don’t have the same flow to them,” Aizawa answers. </p><p>“Understood.”</p><p>“Good,” Aizawa says. “Now, onto the third part. What are your Quirks and skills? What are any limitations that your Quirks have?” </p><p>“My Quirk is called Pyrokinesis. It allows me to control fire, but I can’t start fires,” Akari says. “I also think that my aim is pretty good.” </p><p>Aizawa raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t question. He’s most likely heard of All Might’s students. Izuku’s seen him a couple times in the Hob, throwing coins onto a table to buy coffee, and in the Hob, All Might’s students were very well known. </p><p>“I’m Quirkless,” Izuku says flatly, and is proud of the steadiness in his voice. “I also have pretty good aim, and I think that I’m analytical enough to figure out others’ Quirks. I’ve always had an interest in Quirk studies.” </p><p>“You would’ve been good in District 13,” Aizawa mutters. “Before it was destroyed, that is.” Well, he wouldn’t be wrong. District 13’s industry before the Capitol destroyed it was Quirk research and studies. Aizawa shakes his head, as if to clear it of unwanted thoughts, and says, “Well, there won’t be any guarantee that there will be ranged weapons in the arena. The only ranged weapons they’ll probably have for you are bows and arrows and throwing knives.” </p><p>“We can work with that,” Izuku says. </p><p>“You might want to keep it a secret from the other tributes, but in your private sessions with the Gamemakers on the last day of training, show them what you can do,” Aizawa says. “Until then, steer clear of archery or target practice and learn something you didn’t know before. Swing an axe. Throw a spear. Use a weapon or support item you didn’t know how to use before. Learn some survival skills. If you want any suggestions, I’d suggest learning basic survival skills, like learning what’s edible and what’s not. Learning how to handle knives would also be a good choice, because of their versatility and of how easy they are to find in the arena. You have three days of training to learn, so learn quickly.” </p><p>“Can we train our Quirks?” Akari asks. </p><p>“There is a Quirk training station. However, if you think you have a good enough handle on your Quirk, avoid using it until your session with the Gamemakers,” Aizawa replies. “And yes, Quirk usage is allowed in the private sessions. Encouraged, even.” He turns to Izuku. “Midoriya, because you’re Quirkless, you’ll have to rely more on your sharpshooting to impress the Gamemakers and win a high enough score. I’m not going to lie, your Quirklessness puts you at an extreme disadvantage here.” </p><p>“I know that,” Izuku says casually. “I’ll just have to find a way to work around it. Maybe I can hide it from the other tributes.” </p><p>“And that’s a plan for both of you. Hide your Quirks for as long as possible. You may have to rely on surprise to overpower your enemies more than anything else, just because they’re much stronger, especially the Careers. If you can, watch your competitors in the training area, see what you can learn about them.” More nodding, because that seems to be the main way of responding when their mentor is trying to teach them. “Anything else?” </p><p>“No, at least, not now,” Akari answers. </p><p>“Okay. One last thing,” Aizawa says. “While you don’t have to be glued to each other’s sides for every moment of training, you do have to appear aimable to each other. Show everyone else that you’re at least on friendly terms.” </p><p>That’s easy. “Okay,” Izuku replies. </p><p>“Good,” Aizawa says, getting up. “If you have any more questions, I’ll be in my room. Be here for the elevator, because training starts at ten. Kayama will be here to escort you.” Then he leaves the room without a backwards glance. </p><p>With nothing else to do, Izuku paces aimlessly around the floor. He sometimes catches sight of Akari doing the same thing. They don’t speak, but the nervousness hanging in the air is palpable.  </p><p>Just before ten, both of them are in the elevator with Kayama, heading down to the gymnasium on the lowest floor. Even though they’re early, they’re among the last of the tributes to arrive. Izuku notes Kacchan staring straight ahead, near the front of the group, not bothering to turn around to see the new arrivals in the training room. </p><p>The head trainer steps up at ten o’clock sharp to explain the rules of training. It’s simple: there are stations all around the gym that teach different skills, from survival skills to combat skills, all with their own trainers. Tributes are allowed to head to whatever station they feel will be useful, per their mentor’s instructions. Fighting between tributes is prohibited. </p><p>When the head trainer dismisses them and they’re allowed to leave to whatever they’re allowed to, Akari mutters to Izuku, “So, what do you want to do? Make some friends or just do our stuff?” </p><p>“Let’s go tie some knots,” Izuku answers. “We can go talk to anyone that comes up to us. And I don’t know about you, but I want to stay together for this. We can present ourselves as a team, like this, and we need to talk to more people, cover more territory, we can split up.” </p><p>“Suppose you’re right,” she says. </p><p>The trainer at the knot-tying station seems pleased to have some students. After they show him that they know how to tie some basic snares (without divulging that they know many more complex snares used in hunting, courtesy of Tamaki and Mirio) he shows them how to tie a rope trap that can leave a human dangling from a tree. </p><p>The knot-tying is fairly simple, and Izuku’s somewhat grateful for that. It means that he can turn some of his attention to the tributes around them. He watches the Careers out of the corner of his eye, handing some of the most deadly weapons in the gym easily. Kacchan is among them, and he doesn’t know what to think, seeing this older, stronger version of his childhood friend swinging around a weapon that Izuku doesn’t even know the name of like he’s been doing it his entire life. However, none of the Careers use their Quirks, meaning that Izuku still has no idea what they are and how powerful they are. </p><p>After about half an hour at the station, they move on to the knife-throwing station. There are two other tributes there, and when Akari heads to talk to them, they introduce themselves as Uraraka Ochako from District 11 and Iida Tenya from District 6. The four of them somehow end up grouped together in front of a few targets, throwing knives as they idly chat. Izuku ends up spending most of his time dedicated to making himself look mediocre, always mindful that his knives don’t hit too close to the center of the target. </p><p>“You two are the District 12 tributes, aren’t you?” Uraraka asks. “I loved the flames. At the chariot parade.” </p><p>“Oh, thanks,” Izuku says. “It was the stylists’ idea.”</p><p>“Indeed, the fire was a nice touch,” Iida says. “The illumination from the fire really served to make you look memorable.” </p><p>Izuku turns over their words in his head. Uraraka and Iida seem quite genuine, and honestly, Izuku wouldn’t mind having them as allies. He’s still not sure if he can trust them, but they seem like decent people. Maybe they’d at least have the decency to put helping the civilians over killing other tributes. Eh, he’ll ask them once they’re a bit more familiar with each other. But there’s something about them that feels almost like they could work together. </p><p>Lost in thought, Izuku forgets to aim his next knife at the edge of the target and instead, it sails directly into the very center of the target. </p><p>“Nice throw!” Uraraka says. “Wait, what’s your name again? I forgot, sorry. I’m not good with names.” </p><p>“Deku,” Izuku automatically answers, then backtracks and flails around once he realizes what he said. “Uh, that’s a nickname that lots of people just know me by. My real name’s Midoriya Izuku.” That’s when he realizes why he feels like they could work together. Training with Uraraka and Iida reminds him of trading in the Hob with people who have almost nothing in common with him other than their common enemy of poverty, and who are yet some of the people who offer him the most help. </p><p>“Can I call you Deku, though?” Uraraka asks. “It has a ‘you can do it!’ feel.” </p><p>“Uhh, sure?” Izuku answers. He doesn’t know how to respond to such a positive interpretation of that name. “Deku” always either meant “useless” or was the codename for an illegal hunter. </p><p>They chat for longer while they continue to throw knives. After a while, Iida says, “Let’s move on, shall we?” </p><p>“Have someplace in mind?” Akari asks. </p><p>“Maybe the edible plants station? I think it may be helpful in the arena.” </p><p>Edible plants is another easy one. Like before, both of them have to be careful to appear mediocre and make it look like they know less than they actually do. </p><p>They go on and on like this, moving from station to station and chatting with each other, until lunchtime arrives and they’re directed into a separate room, where food is served on carts placed around the room. Izuku stays with the group of four he’s formed with Akari and people who could potentially be his allies. As they eat, Izuku feels the air around them grow more and more tense as he prepares to ask the one question that led to this in the first place. He doesn't know how to phrase it in a way that’s not too direct or invasive. </p><p>Akari gets there first. “What do you plan on doing when the Games start? Kill other tributes or save civilians?” she asks. </p><p>“Oh, save civilians,” Uraraka answers. “It’s obvious. They don’t deserve this.” </p><p>“Save the civilians, for the same reasons that Uraraka stated,” Iida also answers. </p><p>“Well, that’s nice, because we plan on doing the same thing,” Akari says. “And we might need each other’s help for this to work, because the civilians could be anywhere in the arena. So, allies?” </p><p>Izuku gapes openly at Akari’s bluntness. </p><p>“What?” she asks him. “It worked.” </p><p>A few seconds’ silence follows, then Uraraka replies, “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Sure, I’ll work with you. Iida?” </p><p>“I suppose that will also be best. I'll also join your alliance,” Iida says. </p><p>“Glad we could all reach a deal,” Akari says. Of course, this deal can only be temporary, but no one mentions this. </p><p>“Do we want to include more people in our group, or do you think that the four of us will be enough?” Izuku asks. </p><p>“We might need to find more people,” Uraraka says. “I don’t think there’ll be a ‘safe zone’ in the arena for us to just dump the civilians we save into. We might end up needing to keep them with us and actively guard them against arena dangers. So, yeah.” </p><p>“You make a good point,” Akari concedes. </p><p>“Should we split up for the afternoon training? Cover more territory?” Iida asks. </p><p>“Sure.” </p><p>“Then it’s settled.” </p><p>Several more minutes pass without much talking as they eat. Uraraka then says, “Not that I’m unhappy with having you people work with me in the arena, but what are your Quirks? If you don’t want to say, I guess it makes sense, because we’re in a public area and who knows who’s listening in here.” </p><p>“Just give a basic explanation,” Izuku offers. “Nothing too specific, just the basics.” </p><p>“Alright. Basically, I can cancel gravity’s effect on objects, making them float,” Uraraka starts. </p><p>“I can run quickly, due to the engines in my legs,” Iida says. </p><p>Izuku mentally catalogues their words, his brain running a mile a minute as he wonders about the practical uses of their Quirks in the arena. </p><p>“I can manipulate existing fire, but I can’t start fires myself,” Akari says. </p><p>“What about you, Deku?” Uraraka asks. </p><p>A couple years ago, Izuku would have dreaded this question, knowing that Quirkless meant useless. But now, he knows otherwise. So while he’s guarded against their reactions, he knows that he’ll try to defend against the label of “useless”. </p><p>“Quirkless,” he says flatly. </p><p>There’s silence for a few moments, and Izuku raises his head defiantly. </p><p>
  <em> Call me useless. Call me weak. I know that’s not the case.  </em>
</p><p>“You...volunteered knowing that you were at such a disadvantage?” Iida asks hesitantly. </p><p>“I don’t know if that’s really brave or just really reckless,” Uraraka murmurs. </p><p>“Knowing him, I’d say it’s both,” Akari answers without looking up from her plate of food, and the tension dissipates. </p><p>“I can prove that I’m not useless,” Izuku begins, but Uraraka cuts him off with, “You don’t have to prove anything. We’re in the Games now, and we need all the help we can get.” </p><p>They continue to talk for the duration of the lunch period, and Izuku finds that he doesn’t mind Uraraka and Iida. Izuku learns that they don’t dismiss him for his lack of a Quirk, and if they actually do, they don’t show it. He hesitantly decides that they’re not bad. </p><p>Lunch break ends, and with some “good luck”s exchanged between the four of them, they each part ways. </p><p>Picking a station at random, Izuku heads over to the fire-starting station. Going off on his own like this, with no one to watch his back, sets him on edge. He’s acutely aware of the space around him, attuned to every movement that crosses his vision. </p><p>After working at the station and managing to get a decent fire going with a flint and steel, Izuku turns to see another tribute with pink hair and strange eyes working with some matches. </p><p>“Oh, hello!” the tribute says brightly, far too brightly for the situation they’re in. </p><p>“Hello,” Izuku says cautiously. “What’s your name?” </p><p>“I’m Hatsume Mei, District 3,” she replies. </p><p>“Midoriya Izuku, District 12,” Izuku replies. “You need help with those matches?” </p><p>“Yes please. We don’t have a need for fires in District 3, so I’ve never handled matches before,” Hatsume says. </p><p>Izuku shows her how to properly use the matches, and they somehow strike off a conversation. Hatsume seems clever, if a little eccentric. They chat about their districts and their home lives, and Hatsume seems to always lead back to her “babies” when she talks about District 3. Izuku makes sure to steer clear of topics like the woods when he talks about District 12. </p><p>After Hatsume manages to start a fire using only flint and steel, she looks up in triumph and something seems to catch her eye from across the gym. “Look,” she says, nodding her head in the direction she’s facing. </p><p>Izuku follows her line of sight, and catches sight of the Gamemakers sitting on the stands. “Yeah, the Gamemakers,” he says, a little confused about what Hatsume sees is so interesting about them. </p><p>“No. Look, by the corner of the table,” Hatsume says. </p><p>Izuku squints. He can see the table alright, where a large buffet is set out for the Gamemakers to eat at from. Then, for a second, he sees it. The air near the buffet table seems to almost be shimmering, like heat waves off the pavement on a hot summer day. </p><p>“A force field has been set up between them and the rest of the gym,” she explains. </p><p>“How can you tell? By that wavering air?” </p><p>She nods. “The Capitol’s force fields are designed to be invisible. But you can see just a hint of it, by looking for that shimmering air. The chink in the armour, if it were.” </p><p>“I never knew that,” he murmurs. “I never even knew what force fields were before coming to the Capitol, and even then, the only force fields I’ve heard mentioned are the ones on the roof of the Training Center.” </p><p>“Well, most districts wouldn’t. I only know about them because the Capitol leaves some of the production of them in District 3, and because we have some recordings of previous Hunger Games,” Hatsume says, oddly serious, in stark contrast to the excitable eccentricity that she spoke of her home with. “Did you know in some Games, force fields were used as obstacles or arena traps? Those were nasty years. So many died so quickly, because they couldn’t see the fields.” </p><p>Izuku nods, feeling sickened at the thought. “How do they work? In what way are they dangerous?” he asks. </p><p>“All force fields work by transmitting energy through their surface area,” she answers. “When you touch a force field, the energy running through the surface area will throw you back. Different force fields carry different amounts of energy. In some force fields, the energy will only be enough to push you back, albeit with a painful zap. But in others, the energy running through the field will be enough to electrocute or burn someone to death as they throw the poor bastards back with enough force to send them flying.” </p><p>He nods again, turning back to peer at the shimmering air, the chink in the armour. “Is there some way to disable or weaken a force field?” he asks. It may be a long shot that she knows that much about Capitol technology, but she’s from District 3 and already seems to know more about this than he does, and he’ll take any answers he can get from Hatsume. </p><p>Hatsume hums as she leans back on her heels. “Well, like you would destroy any kind of technology, I suppose,” she murmurs quietly. Then, she stands up, and says loudly, “C’mon, help me with gathering more sticks so we can try and start another fire.” </p><p>Immediately understanding that she doesn’t want this conversation to be heard by whatever hidden cameras or microphones, Izuku gets up as well to help Hatsume snap off more branches and gather more sticks for another pile of firewood. </p><p>“This is mostly theory, what I’m going to tell you,” Hatsume murmurs quietly to Izuku as they work side-by-side. “Listen, I can tell you my thoughts, but I want you to agree on an alliance with me if you want to hear them.” </p><p>This is a surprise, but not an unpleasant one. Hatsume seems like she’d be a useful asset on the team. She’s smart and knowledgeable. “What are your goals in the arena?” Izuku asks in response. “Will you kill other tributes, or will you put the lives of the civilians first?” </p><p>“Help protect the civilians,” Hatsume replies. “And I suppose you, too?” </p><p>He nods. </p><p>“Well then, it seems like we have a common goal, at least.” </p><p>“Why do you want me, though?” Izuku asks. “You don’t know much about me.” </p><p>“You seem like you know what you want to do,” she answers. “You’re clever, and you ask the right questions about things you don’t know. You saved that kid when you volunteered for this Quell, so you seem like a decent person. Besides, anyone gutsy enough to volunteer for a Quell <em> and </em> wear flames like that in the chariot parade has my respect.” </p><p>“I already have something of a team being put together, and we all have our common goal of helping civilians,” Izuku offers. “You could join us?” </p><p>“Good enough. Deal.” Hatsume extends a hand, expression unreadable, and Izuku takes it. A simple handshake is all they need. </p><p>“Alright, so how do I destroy a force field?” Izuku asks. </p><p>“Like I said before, like you would destroy any sort of tech. Damage it so it doesn’t work anymore,” she begins quietly, so quietly that Izuku can barely hear her over the snap of sticks. “But this time, your options are a lot more limited. Blunt force, along with sharp objects, won’t work, because force fields are meant to deflect anything thrown at them. This means you need some destructive force other than physical objects. If you’d ask me, I’d find a way to overload the field with electricity, and blow it out. Fire might also work, because you’re damaging the tech behind the field with heat. I don’t know, because I’ve never tested any of this. But your current two options are: find a source of electricity in the arena, whatever that might be, and drive it into the field, or get some fire and find a way to direct it into the field to damage it.” </p><p>“How is a force field built? I mean, what are the components that make up a force field?” Izuku asks. “You said ‘tech behind the field’. What did you mean by that?” </p><p>“Ah, I should’ve worded that better,” Hatusme mutters. “Well, the force field itself has to have something supporting it and powering it. Something needs to be generating the force field. The fields are pieces of tech, not magical panes of electricity hanging in the air. And they don’t have to be positioned exactly behind the fields, either. Most of the time, they’re positioned under the field. In District 3, some people were responsible for the construction of parts of force field generators. That was where I learned this.” </p><p>He nods. “Makes sense. Unless the fields really are magical panes of electricity hanging in midair, generated by someone’s Quirk.” </p><p>“That is another option.” Hatsume shrugs. “But most likely that it’s technology, because I doubt there’s someone strong enough to generate enough force fields to surround an entire arena, and keep them up all day long. Even if there were multiple people working, it’ll still be a lot of effort.” </p><p>“Whoa, hang on. Force fields surrounding an entire arena?” Izuku demands. </p><p>“You didn’t notice when you watched the past Hunger Games?” Hatsume blinks. </p><p>“No. I didn’t even know what a force field was before coming here, never mind knowing what it looks like, remember?” </p><p>She sighs, seeming to consider. “If you have any chance to watch recordings of past Games before going into the arena, I’d suggest you take it. Look for fights that take place at the arena’s edges. You’ll usually be able to see the chink in the armour off to the side, if you look closely. After all, how do you think the tributes are locked in the arena with no way of escape? They use force fields. Fields with enough power running through them that the tributes that touch them will immediately be fried. Of course, there are some force fields that are placed inside the arena, and not just at the edge, but all arenas are surrounded by force fields to keep the tributes in.” </p><p>And that’s when Izuku decides that yes, having Hatsume join their group is a good thing. She knows quite a lot of information that could be quite useful, and even if she’s from District 3, where there’s not much nature to be found among the many buildings and factories, she can learn from him or Akari. </p><p>With their conversation about force fields and how to survive the arena and how to protect civilians from arena dangers, Izuku almost forgets that only one tribute can live. He's abruptly reminded when the training session ends that afternoon and all the tributes part ways to head upstairs. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>When their elevator opens up to their floor after heading up from the gym, Izuku is the first to ask, “So, made any new friends?” </p><p>“Eh,” Akari says, shrugging as they step out of the elevator. “I talked to a few other people, even if not all of them were as eager to talk to me. There was this one guy from District 8, Shinsou, I think his name was? He seemed pretty smart, and I thought that he could be useful in the arena, although he said he didn’t want to join any alliance.” </p><p>“Shinsou?” </p><p>“Yeah. Grumpy, prickly guy with purple hair and bags under his eyes, looks like he could be Aizawa’s secret love child?” </p><p>Izuku snickers at the description. He can somewhat recall him from the Reaping footage now, mounting the stage with a flat expression that almost seemed bored. “I can try to talk to him tomorrow.” </p><p>“And what about you? Make any new friends yourself?” </p><p>“I guess,” he answers, shrugging. “The girl tribute from District 3, Hatsume. She was something of a special case.” </p><p>“Really? How so?” </p><p>“I wanted information from her, and she made a deal with me. She said that she would tell me what I wanted, and in return, she would join our alliance.” </p><p>Akari hums. “She’s an interesting one. You think she’d be useful?” </p><p>“She seems smart, if kind of...weird, and she knows quite a bit. I guess we’ll see.” </p><p>Their conversation is interrupted by Aizawa, who strides into the room and asks about their training. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Dinner that night is more tiring than any of the dinners Izuku’s had since leaving home. Aizawa and Kayama grill him and Akari on their day of training, about whether they made any alliances, about the people they met, about what stations they trained at. The stylists aren’t around, so there’s no one to add pleasantries to the dinner. That’s both a blessing and a curse, as it means that while they do get to the point of what they want to talk about, there’s no one to add civility to the discussion. </p><p>After dinner is finished, Akari heads up the rooftop, and Izuku follows her up. There, he uses Hatsume’s trick to map out the force fields surrounding the rooftop, and he points them out to Akari as well, showing her to look for Hatsume’s chink in the armour. It’s harder to spot the force field on the darkened rooftop than in the brightly lit gym, but it’s still visible. </p><p>“Hatsume also said that theoretically, we might be able to destroy the force fields by electricity or fire if they were blocking our path,” Izuku says. “Overload the tech with so much electricity that it blows out the field, or damage it by heating it up with fire.” </p><p>“If those force fields are designed to kill whatever touches them, do you think we can use them as weapons against the mutts they’ll send into the arena?” Akari asks.</p><p>“Probably, yeah.” He hadn’t thought of that. “We could try to lead them into the fields.” </p><p>They spend the rest of the evening discussing quietly on the rooftop, and when it’s time for them to go to bed, Izuku’s nightmares are permeated with images of blood. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The second day of training is somewhat easier than the first, given that they already know how the day is expected to turn out. After they’re released to go to their stations, Izuku spends most of his time with Akari, learning whatever new skills that they think could be useful in the arena. There’s lots to learn, from fishing to camouflage to edible bugs. At stations where there are already tributes at, they take time to talk with them. They only talk to tributes not from the Career districts, and they get to meet and learn about several other people, although no one that Izuku thinks would be a truly valuable asset to their team. </p><p>When lunch arrives, Izuku invites Hatsume to their odd group of four, and they spend most of the time talking about whatever they can find that’s not about the Games. Hatsume is helpful in this regard, as she brightly talks about her “babies” (which Izuku is beginning to assume are her inventions) at home. </p><p>In the afternoon, they all split up to talk to different people and to go to other stations, like the day before. </p><p>There’s a smaller station off to the side, where tributes can learn to use support weapons - weapons that aren’t necessarily deadly, but can be lethal when used in the right ways and have many other uses. Only one other tribute is there, and Izuku can recognize Shinsou Hitoshi from Akari’s description of him. After the trainer at the station helps him secure some scarf-like capture weapon around his neck and shows him how to use it, Izuku walks over to the training area to practice on the dummies placed around the area. </p><p>“Hello!” Izuku calls as he walks over, as brightly as he can. </p><p>Shinsou eyes him for a few seconds, before flatly answering, “Are you talking to me because you don’t have anything else to entertain yourself with, or because you want something from me? If it’s the former, I can suggest all the many different support items here you can learn to use instead of chitchatting.” </p><p>“And if it’s the latter?” Izuku asks. </p><p>“Then, I suppose it depends,” he replies. “You’re one of the District 12 tributes, right?” </p><p>“Yes.” </p><p>“Your district partner already tried talking to me, but I wasn’t interested in her offer of joining an alliance,” Shinsou says. “If you’re here to ask me the same thing, I’ll tell you the same thing: I’m not interested.” He turns, adjusting the capture weapon he’s wearing around his neck, the same one Izuku’s wearing. </p><p>“And why not?” Izuku cautiously asks.</p><p>There’s heavy silence as Shinsou throws out a tendril of his capture weapon, wrapping it around a dummy several feet away from him. He then says, “Because I’m already sure that I’m not getting out of these Games alive. I’m going to save as many people as I can before something kills me.” </p><p>A shiver runs down Izuku’s back at those words, even though he has been telling himself the same thing since the Reaping. “And why are you thinking something like that?” Izuku asks. “Everyone has a chance in these Games, y’know. It’s just about widening that chance as much as you can, then using every advantage you have to win.” The ease with which he says that surprises even him. </p><p>Shinsou snorts, as he uses the capture weapon to awkwardly throw the dummy to the side. “No, I won’t use every advantage I have to win. I’ll find ways to survive and save people, sure, but I refuse to kill anyone in these Games, even if I die because of it,” he says, and Izuku blinks in surprise. </p><p>“Even if it means you can go home?” Izuku asks quietly as he takes his place in the training area, some several feet away from Shinsou. </p><p>“I don’t want to go home like this,” Shinsou mutters. “I don’t want to go home a <em> villain </em>.” </p><p>The vehemence with which he says that stuns Izuku into silence for a few seconds. “A villain? What exactly...would make you a ‘villain’? If it’s the killing that does it, then that means that practically every victor is a villain.” </p><p>He sighs, running a hand through his messy purple hair. “I’m too tired to pour out my tragic backstory to you at the moment. I’ve already told you too much, anyway.” He sighs again. “And my verdict is still the same. I won’t join any alliance, and I’ll do things my own way. Now shut up and train.” </p><p>“Okay,” Izuku says hesitantly. There’s a strange feeling in his chest that makes his heart feel heavy. “But just so you know, if you’re ever in trouble in the arena, the offer’s still open.” </p><p>Shinsou doesn’t reply. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“It was weird talking to Shinsou,” Izuku tells Akari on their floor’s common room as they wait for dinner to be prepared by whatever luxury chefs work in the building. “He told me that he didn’t want to join any alliance, didn’t want to kill anyone, and planned to just...die in the arena. He also said that he didn’t want to become a ‘villain’, whatever that meant. Did he tell you any of that?” </p><p>“No, besides the ‘I’ll do things on my own’ part.” Akari sighs. “Pity. He seemed smart, and I honestly thought that he could be useful. I also thought his sarcasm was pretty amusing.” </p><p>Izuku doesn’t reply, and looks down. The memory of Shinsou’s answer of how he planned to die in the arena plays over and over in his head. “I...the fact that he just planned on dying…” </p><p>“Izuku, we don’t know anything,” Akari says. “For all we know, he could be faking it so we turn our attention off of him.” </p><p>“It did seem genuine, though,” he murmurs. </p><p>And that’s when Izuku recognizes what the weight in his chest that’s been sitting here since training is. It’s sadness. It’s sorrow, that someone is going to die alone and resigned, without even a hint of fear, and with no chance of rescue. And despite the fact that Izuku is planning to do everything he can to get Akari out of the Games, meaning that everyone else would have to die, something just doesn’t sit right with him about Shinsou’s words. </p><p>“When I heard what he said...I thought...that even if he was an enemy...even if he won’t get out alive, I’d just be able to...save him from his own thoughts,” Izuku says. </p><p>Akari sighs. “You were always just too stupidly heroic for your own good, weren’t you?” she asks. “Even in that stupid game we used to play in the woods to pass time. The heroes and villains game. Even though it was fake, you always wanted to do the ‘right thing’. I both admired it and hated it. You and I both know that there are no heroes in this world.” </p><p>“But look where we are!” Izuku says, and a mad laugh escapes the confines of his mouth. “In the Hunger Games, in a Quell based on the idea of heroism.” </p><p>“And doing the ‘right thing’ is all well and good when it comes to the civilians, but I doubt we can do anything about the tributes, especially since we’re all vying against each other for survival in the end, despite our agreements to work together and save the civilians.” </p><p>She’s right, as much as Izuku doesn’t like it. It’s Izuku’s turn to sigh. “This is going nowhere,” he says, effectively cutting off the conversation there. “So, who did you meet today?” </p><p>“Oh, I met and talked with Kacchan while you were preoccupied with Shinsou.” </p><p>“YOU WHAT?” </p><p>“You heard me,” Akari deadpans. “I met and talked with your childhood friend, the Career from District 2. He’s...interesting, to say the least.” </p><p>Izuku blinks a few times, trying to picture Kacchan and Akari sharing a training station as they make small talk and failing. “What did you think of him?” </p><p>“He’s definitely smart, and most likely has a powerful Quirk, too. But he’s crass, annoying, and rude, and given how you talked about him and how he used to discriminate against you for your Quirklessness, I say we do our best to avoid him. Not fight him or try to recruit him, just avoid him.” </p><p>“You’re probably right about that. I don’t want any more baggage between me and him, anyway, especially if we’re going somewhere where we’ll die or probably be killed by each other.” Izuku sighs, and sinks down on the couch he’s sitting on. </p><p>“Hey, do you think we should try and talk to more of the Careers?” Akari asks. “Not necessarily your friend, but the others as well,” she adds. </p><p>“I don’t know how well they’ll take to that, but it’s worth a shot, I suppose,” Izuku mutters. “Just...not Kacchan. I...really don’t know what he is to me anymore. Certainly not my ally, probably a friend or a former friend, and probably my enemy? That’s kinda contradictory, right? A friend that’s your enemy?” </p><p>“I guess, but I also guess it makes sense. I mean, even though we’re friends, look where we are. But I don’t plan on us being real enemies, if that’s your question. I want us to be allies, at least,” Akari answers. </p><p>“But what if it comes down to the two of us, and everyone else is either dead and all the civilians are safe? Then, we’d truly be enemies” he says, finally voicing the thing he’s most afraid of. It makes him shudder to actually imagine that scenario in a real-life setting. </p><p>“Obviously, I don’t want to kill you,” Akari scoffs. “I’d say, worry about getting there first. Then we’ll see.” </p><p>“Hey, kiddos,” Aizawa calls. “Dinner’s ready!” </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Day three of training is the day where they only have the morning to train, because the afternoon is dedicated to private sessions with the Gamemakers. Izuku spends most of the morning with Akari, talking to the remainder of the tributes from the outer districts as he tries to work up the courage to go up and talk with the Careers. </p><p>They meet Kaminari and Ashido at the sword-fighting station, and exchange a few words. They’re cheerful and loud, but it’s clear that they won’t be teaming up anytime soon. Akari talks to Hagakure at the spear-throwing stations, and they have a slightly one-sided conversation with Kouda at a knife-fighting station. </p><p>“Come on, we don’t have much time until lunch, so if we want to talk, it’s best we do it now,” Akari mutters to Izuku as she leads the way towards the knot-tying station, where they had already visited but is currently being occupied by the two Careers from District 1, if Izuku remembers correctly. </p><p>“Hey!” she calls towards the pair, and they look up. “Mind if we join you?” </p><p>“No, not at all,” the girl with the long black hair says. “I’m Yaoyorozu, and this,” she nods her head towards her companion, “is Todoroki.” </p><p>“Nice to meet you. I’m Kimura,” Akari says. </p><p>“I’m Midoriya, and it’s nice to meet you,” Izuku offers, feeling slightly awkward. </p><p>“Nice to meet you,” Todoroki says coolly. </p><p>Izuku pauses to study them. Both of them look healthy and well-fed, as expected of Career Tributes. Their stylists probably didn’t have any issues with thinking up outfits for them for the chariot parade, and probably won’t have any issues making them look nice for the upcoming interviews. </p><p>After tying a few simple snares, they move onto just hanging around and weaving hammocks out of vines as they chat. Both Careers are polite and formal, even if Todoroki is a bit cold, although Izuku doesn’t doubt that they won’t be half as pleasant in the arena. None of them use or talk about their Quirks, so Izuku still doesn’t know how dangerous they truly are. </p><p>After about half an hour of stilted conversation, they leave the station and split up. “So, how was it?” Akari asks Izuku as they head away. </p><p>“Nerve-wracking.” He sighs. “Nothing that can be done about that, I suppose.”</p><p>“You’re absolutely right. Come on.” </p><p>They head to the fishing station, and exchange words with Asui, a District 4 tribute. Strangely, as they leave the station after about twenty minutes of conversation, she asks them to call her Tsuyu. </p><p>At the archery station, they meet Tokoyami, also from District 4. His Quirk is obvious: a sentient shadow hangs around him and peers over his shoulder as they chat. However, its limits are unknown. As they chat, Izuku has to turn part of his brain away from their conversation to the weapon he’s using. </p><p>He’s been waiting so long to pick up one of these bows. His fingers slot easily into their proper places as he lifts a bow up and notches an arrow, the motion familiar. When Tokoyami comments on the ease with which he handles the bow, he awkwardly laughs it off. The bows and arrows are different from the ones they have at home, made of metal and plastic rather than wood. It takes a few tries to get used to them, but by then, Izuku is firing it as easily as the ones back home. As with the knife-throwing station where they met Iida and Uraraka, Izuku is careful to aim for the edges of the target rather than the center, trying to appear mediocre. </p><p>Tokoyami practically talks in riddles, throwing unnecessary words into his sentences and speaking in metaphors. There are moments where he talks almost like a regular person, however, and Izuku wonders if his speaking style is just part of the atmosphere he’s trying to create or the side effect of being attached to another sentient being. Dark Shadow seems pretty casual as it peppers its own comments throughout their conversation, though, so it’s probably the former. </p><p>It’s almost a relief when lunch arrives. Izuku stays with the group of five that is their current alliance. </p><p>They eat in silence, until Uraraka breaks the silence with, “What are you planning on doing for the private training sessions?” </p><p>“No idea,” Akari says airily, which is so unlike her that Izuku pauses eating to frown. </p><p>“Put on a dance, sing, take a nap. There’s plenty of ideas, as long as you’re not scared.” Hatsume snorts. “I was thinking that maybe I could dig around for some spare parts and try to put something together.” </p><p>“What spare parts?” Iida asks. “There’s nothing but weapons.” </p><p>“I’ll figure something out,” Hatsume says. “What about you guys? Are you planning on using your Quirks?” </p><p>It’s clear that none of their answers are serious, as they joke and laugh about all the various things they could possibly do. The cheerful aura of friendly camaraderie floats around them as they talk, bonding over their shared fear and hatred of the Gamemakers and their private sessions. And Izuku hates it. </p><p>He hates it because it’s clear that his allies aren’t bad people, and yet, he needs to find a way to kill them once they pass a certain point in the Games. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please be aware that the tech conversations about the force fields between the characters are based on 100% fake science. </p><p>And if anyone wants a complete list of the tributes to they don't have to keep doubling back to ch 2 to check, here it is:<br/>D1 - Todoroki Shouto, Yaoyorozu Momo<br/>D2 - Bakugou Katsuki (originally from D12), female tribute<br/>D3 - male tribute, Hatsume Mei<br/>D4 - Tokoyami Fumikage, Asui Tsuyu<br/>D5 - Kaminari Denki, female tribute<br/>D6 - Iida Tenya, female tribute<br/>D7 - male tribute, Hagakure Tooru<br/>D8 - Shinsou Hitoshi, female tribute<br/>D9 - male tribute, Ashido Mina<br/>D10 - Kouda Koji, female tribute<br/>D11 - male tribute, Uraraka Ochako<br/>D12 - Midoriya Izuku, Kimura Akari</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Strike a match and I'll burn you to the ground</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the long wait. Wait times between chapters will also be longer than before.</p><p>Chapter title is from "The Phoenix" by Fall Out Boy because apparently some chapters will now have song lyrics as titles</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>If you want to succeed, you’ll have to use both your fire and your ice. This rebellion, this refusal to use your fire, is pointless, and certainly won’t be of any help in a life-or-death situation. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>His father’s words ring in his head as Shouto steps out of the side room and into the gymnasium. Yes, it’s true, using his fire as well as his ice will increase his chances of survival greatly. But his mother’s cries echo in his head whenever he activates his left side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, he’s decided on something of a compromise. Shouto will use his fire, but only when it’s needed. And right now, he doesn’t need it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Todoroki Shouto, you have ten minutes to show your skill of choice,” the Head Gamemaker, a thin man with pale hair and disembodied hands covering his arms as well as one covering his face, says. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shouto nods briskly, and strides into the center of the gym, where there’s more open room. He hasn’t trained his Quirk at all since arriving in the Capitol, but he knows he won’t forget the training drilled into him through years of abuse. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>One wave of his hand fills the area with what’s practically a small glacier. He attacks, again and again, until the temperature in the gym has dropped several degrees and he’s so cold that he can barely feel his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Has it been ten minutes yet? The room is practically filled with ice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are dismissed, Todoroki,” the Head Gamemaker says a few minutes later, and Shouto nods and turns to head for the elevators, activating his left side to warm himself up and nothing more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, there’s one upside to refusing to use his fire. The Gamemakers can’t let any of the other tributes see what the tribute before them has done, meaning they need to get rid of the ice. And as Shouto won’t use his fire to melt the ice, they’ll have to find some way to clear away all that ice themselves. And it’s a lot of ice. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nearly forty minutes have passed since Todoroki was called. Knowing him, he probably used his Quirk to such a degree that it damaged the surrounding area and they needed to take time to clean it all up. When Momo steps onto the gym floor, she notes that it’s slightly damp. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, her session begins. She’s spent some time considering what she should do for her private session with the Gamemakers. There’s the option of trying to aim for a low score on purpose in order to try and get the other tributes to underestimate her, but she’s from a Career District. They’ll see right through the act. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, she should try and aim for the highest score she can. Certainly, she shouldn’t be using her Quirk much, because it takes up fat cells, which she may need in the arena. Of course, she has her own combat skills, but should she use them in conjunction with her Quirk or by themselves?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Deciding on a combination of the two, she activates her Quirk and pulls two long blades out of her sides. Gripping one in each hand, she turns to face the array of dummies arranged in front of her and she runs forward. A feral war cry tears loose as she slashes and stabs with lethal strength, speed, and accuracy, targeting vital organs. Had she been fighting living people, they would all be dead by now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The training dummies are designed so that when their skin is cut, blood-coloured liquid pours out, bleeding the canvas red. The dummies Momo has been cutting are drenched in red, and the liquid is all over her knives and splattered across her shirt, face, and arms as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When her allotted ten minutes are up, she nods briskly at the Gamemakers’ dismissal, drops her knives on the floor, and walks toward the elevator without looking back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She doesn’t want to see the carnage splattered across the gym floor. The blood on her hands is bad enough already. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Gamemakers clean up well enough, at least, Katsuki notes when it’s his turn. He doesn’t know what the tribute before him did, and there’s nothing to hint at it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, well. It’s not like he needs to know. He can do well enough on his own, he’s sure of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He doesn’t use any of the weapons available, because he knows he won’t need them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The light and noise and heat from his explosions fill the entire room. All he knows is the burn and flash of his Quirk going off in his palms as he catapults himself across the room, leaving scorch marks all over the floor and walls. The weapons and materials laid out across the gym are either burned by his explosions or thrown into the air by the force of his explosions. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Let them try to clean that up,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he thinks savagely as he exits the room at their dismissal. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mei wasn’t kidding when she said that she would probably try and invent something new out of the assorted weapons in the training room. Unfortunately, it seems that some of the tributes - and she has a good idea of who - has left a colossal mess of the training room. While the materials are still in the gym, albeit slightly more disorganized and windblown than before, there are large parts of the floor and walls that are blackened and scorched. She casts a glance at the Gamemakers’ stands. Well, it seems that the force field that’s been set up there is still functional. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Hm.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She takes a deep breath, and heads over to the support item station. A few of the support items there run on battery power. She can do something with that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next several minutes are spent in a sort of frenzy, not unlike the days where she stumbles on a new idea that must be carried out and fervently spends several hours working non-stop on her project. Support items are torn up, disassembled, and stuck together in a haphazard fashion to create tech so crude that Mei would have never have deigned to even think up if she were at home. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she finally straightens up from where she’s crouched over the table she’s working on, primitive inventions arranged messily in front of her, she takes a deep breath and lets it out through her nose. She’s survived the Reaping, she’s survived the chariot parade, she can surely survive this. Even the Gamemakers were annoyed by her impertinence, they probably wouldn’t kill her off. It would be a pain to replace a tribute at this stage. And anyway, it wasn’t like the Gamemakers deserved her respect. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s more like a product pitch than anything else. Pushing the table holding her inventions to the center of the gym, she paces the area in front of the Gamemakers’ stands, waving her inventions in the air and announcing their uses in a bright, loud voice. It may not be much in way of the arena, but it’s what she’s best at. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least, when she leaves the training room, she doesn’t have any regrets. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Light shines starkly down from the ceiling of the training room. If he wants, Fumikage could get Dark Shadow to reach up to the ceiling and tear them out, darkening the area and making it more powerful. Although, it might be better not to get too high of a training score, as to not attract attention. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So he leaves the lights where they are and fights with what he already has. Dark Shadow roars and tears up the training dummies in front of them, throwing them effortlessly around. That has to be enough to impress the Gamemakers. When he’s dismissed, he nods briskly and strides quickly to the elevator. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s no water. There’s no pool in the Training Center, which is a pity. Ah, well. Tsuyu can just use the weapons scattered throughout the gym, even if they’re not to her taste. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She bounds nimbly across the gym and from wall to wall in large leaps, twirling a broadsword around. Of course, she’s trained with weapons like this back home, but it doesn’t make it feel any less awkward. She’s never liked the feel of these weapons in her hands, all sharp edges and points, designed to spill blood. But if she wants to live, she may need to start acquainting herself with these tools. Awkwardly waving a blade around in the arena won’t help her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, no matter how much it might hinder her, it might take a little. After the Gamemakers dismiss her, Tsuyu’s glad to be able to set the sword back down where she found it and walk away. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>His performance probably is quite mediocre, to say the least. Nothing like any of the higher-level stunts the Careers can pull off. Denki’s not sure he can handle any of the heavy weaponry in the gym, stuff like swords and spears and axes, no matter how much he would like to, so he just shows a few simple knife tricks he learned in the past few days. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He slashes at a few training dummies and throws a few knives. Well, even if he doesn’t get a very high training score, at least he knows a few new things. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Quirk use is illegal in the districts. Everyone knows that. That means that there have been no chances for Tenya to practice or train with his Quirk. But even so, his Quirk is probably his best chance. While he does feel like he’s picked up a few skills over the last few days, he still doesn’t feel like it’s enough to earn him a high enough score. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When his time begins, he fires up the engines in his legs and runs forward into the area set up in front of him, lines of draining dummies arrayed in an open area. The air rushes past him. He doesn’t have many chances to use his Quirk, so this could almost be fun. Almost. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When his time is up, he nods towards the Gamemakers in a reluctant attempt to be polite before turning away to leave. He’s covered in red from where the dummies’ skin broke from the force of his engine-propelled kicks, and he hates it. So much so that he doesn’t know how he’ll handle the arena, when he will most likely be covered in blood, not dye.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>In District 7, where the industry is lumber, all workers know how to handle an axe with at least some level of proficiency. The kids in the district are put to work early, and most teenagers know at least enough about using an axe to deal damage to another person, if they want to. Tooru’s never really thought about it until now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She picks up an axe and heads over to a row of dummies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’s holding the same tool that she’s used many, many times before. But it feels so different. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the Gamemakers tell him that he can begin, he feels his skin crawl. Who do they think they are? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wonders if he could trick one of them to answer him so he can use his Quirk on them? The Gamemakers might kill him for such a thing, but he’ll die in the arena anyway, right? And besides, a “villain’s Quirk” shouldn’t bother them at all. He can’t think of a better example of a villain than a Gamemaker. As he heads over to the support items station, he starts up a one-sided conversation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, what’s it like? Spending your days designing arenas and setting up traps? Well, congrats anyway. You’ve killed a bunch of kids. You must be so proud.” Hitoshi scoops up a capture weapon and pulls it over his head so it rests around his neck like a scarf, the way he practiced during training. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He keeps up a stream of taunts and idle jabs as he slings the scarf around, wrapping it around dummies and flinging them around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sadly, none of them respond to him. It’s a shame, really. They’re the only people Hitoshi wouldn’t mind using his villain’s Quirk on.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Splashing and sizzling fills the air as acid flies across the room onto targets, melting them. Mina’s never used her Quirk to this degree before. In District 9, the most she really did was drip little droplets of acid where it was needed, usually in house repairs when they needed to dismantle a few planks of wood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But now, she’s weaponizing it. She has thought of the idea of her Quirk being dangerous before, but she’s never dwelled on it. Besides, death by acid is such a horrible way to die that she tries to turn her mind away from it whenever she can. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But now, she might not have a choice. She’s currently melting dummies with her acid, and that’s only a few steps away from using it to kill a living human.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>There are no animals in the gym, no chance for Koji to use his Quirk. That means he’ll have to find other ways to make do. Being from District 10, their industry being livestock, meant not many chances to practice using something deadly to kill people.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s fine. He’s never wanted to kill someone else. The very thought of it makes him shiver in fear and guilt. He does something simple. He uses what he learned from the edible plants section to sort them into piles, the edible from the non-edible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least when he leaves, he doesn’t have that sick feeling in his chest when he thinks about death.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’s shaking. Ochako tries to steady her legs and straighten her back as she walks into the training room. Why does this almost feel worse than mounting the stage at the Reaping? Maybe it’s because she knows she needs to put on a show this time around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the Gamemakers signal that she can proceed, she heads over to the weights section of the gym, tapping the first one she comes across. She continues across the station in this manner, making as many weights float as she can with her Quirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She keeps going, until the air around her is practically a minefield of heavy chunks of metal. Once she stills and turns around to observe them, she flings herself forward, leaping into the air and throwing and pushing weights around. As soon as she gets some momentum going on each one, she releases her Quirk’s hold on them and they turn into projectiles hurtling through the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It may or may not be useful in the arena, depending on what they have lying around, but at least she won’t be completely defenseless. And even if she gets a low or mediocre score for her training, it might provide some good cover for her, right? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, what comes can’t be avoided. Either way, she’ll make the best out of what she gets.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>After the door closes after Uraraka as she leaves for her private session, the room is completely silent. The only people left in the room are Izuku and Akari. They’re been idly chatting with each other and Uraraka, even if just to be polite, but now that they’re alone with each other, they don’t bother trying for politeness. They’ve too familiar with each other to be polite when they’re alone. Any resemblance of small talk dies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Izuku,” Akari whispers, “how are we going to kill these people?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, there’s that to talk about, but it’s not exactly small polite talk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I...I don’t know.” And that’s the truth. He doesn’t know how he’ll stand to murder his allies after all’s said and done. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She doesn’t press. She simply nods and looks away, and then they’re silent again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There is a clock in the room, but Izuku tries not to look at it. His name is eventually called, and when he gets up, Akari calls, “Shoot straight, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She already knows the basics of what he’s planning to do, then. “You too,” Izuku says. “Well, if you want to use archery, that is.” Akari nods and waves him onwards, and Izuku turns around to leave for the training room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When his allotted ten minutes start, he heads straight to the archery station and picks up the nearest bow, and slings a sheath of arrows over one shoulder. He’s now slightly grateful for the little time he spent actually practicing archery during training, because these bows are different from the ones at home, made of metal and plastic rather than wood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He heads to the firing range, hands fitting easily into their places on the bow, practically automatic after all the years spent hunting. As he does, he turns to look over at the Gamemakers and notices that something’s wrong. They’re bored. Half of them don’t even look like they’re paying attention to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aizawa had warned them about this. He had warned that the Gamemakers might get bored and just start to ignore the tributes. And given that they’re from District 12, the last tributes to go for their private session, they’re going to catch the brunt of the Gamemakers’ ignorance. Izuku clenches his teeth. He’ll have to make do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Heading over to a small cannon that fires small fake birds into the air for tributes to shoot down, something he vaguely noticed during the last few days, he starts it up and takes his place as the first few birds are tossed up into the air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s almost fun, trying to hit a moving target. Izuku continues to fire over and over again, shooting with pinpoint accuracy honed over the years to bring down each bird efficiently. Once the cannon’s empty, he whips around to fire at the targets across the gym, hitting the bullseyes easily. He whips around again and fires at the string holding up a punching bag, severing it with one arrow. He then turns again and fires his last arrow up into the ceiling, resulting in a shower of sparks as a few lights go down. It’s excellent shooting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He then expectantly turns to the Gamemakers. A few of them are nodding approval, but most of them aren’t even looking in his direction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A wild idea flashes through his head as his frustration surges. He thinks of Akari, and how it might do her a favour if he kept the Gamemakers’ attention on him and away from her. The choice is fairly easy after that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He runs over to the archery station, and scoops up a fresh sheath of arrows, dropping the empty one on the floor. The moment it’s over his back, he nocks an arrow and sends it flying towards the Gamemakers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The arrow is deflected off the force field with a sharp </span>
  <em>
    <span>bang </span>
  </em>
  <span>and a flurry of sparks, as well as some jumps and a few shrieks from the Gamemakers, but Izuku has another one already positioned on his bowstring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arrow after arrow flies at the Gamemakers. They have the force field to thank for the fact that they currently didn’t have arrows stuck in them. Well, even if they did, at least they wouldn’t be dead. Izuku had aimed for nonfatal areas when firing, such as shoulders or legs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He continues firing until his sheath is empty and the floor is littered with arrows burnt from the force field. The Gamemakers are all staring at him now in shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for your consideration,” Izuku says politely as he waits for his dismissal. When his dismissal arrives, he turns to leave. As he does, he pulls the knife he snagged from the firing range out of his back pocket and throws it at the Gamemakers in one motion, quick as a viper, eliciting a few more terrified shrieks as it’s deflected off the force field.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>When Akari walks into the gym, it’s in ruins. There are scorch marks on the walls, weapons are scattered all over the floor, arrows are lodged everywhere, and it’s just an overall mess. (There’s even an arrow stuck in the ceiling, probably due to Izuku.) Part of her is terrified of what she’s about to do, but another part of her is telling her she should do it. Yet another part of her is almost excited for what she’s going to do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turns her head to peer at the Gamemakers sitting on the stands, and then she’s almost immediately on alert. They look tense or nervous. Whatever Izuku did, he probably rattled them. All of them look unsettled. Well, almost all of them. One of them has a black and white mask covering his face and the Head Gamemaker has a disembodied hand covering his face, so she can’t see their expressions. There’s also another young woman with blond hair in buns and yellow eyes who almost looks excited, but excluding those, everyone else looks unsettled. None of them look bored at all, unlike what Aizawa warned them about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s not a good thing. That means Izuku did something that brought all of the Gamemakers’ attention to him. And that means he possibly has a lower chance of surviving in the arena. Being in the Gamemakers’ spotlight can never be a good thing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akari can fix that, though. She’s been planning this since training started, and she’s been wanting to use it because first, it might take attention of Izuku, and second, scaring the Gamemakers is the least they deserve. She has been doubting it a little, wondering if it could get her killed by the Gamemakers then and there, but she’s decided that it probably wouldn’t. It would be a pain to replace a tribute at this stage. And besides, it’s probably needed now, if she wants to keep Izuku out of their attention and get him home to District 12. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the Gamemakers tell her she can start, Akari heads directly to the fire-making station. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sorry, buddy, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she thinks as she starts gathering up dry leaves and sticks into a pile. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I won’t be needing your “shoot straight” today. </span>
  </em>
  <span>This may actually turn out to be a little dangerous, even outside the Gamemakers’ influence. But it’s fine. She’s put out a forest fire with her untrained Quirk to help Izuku and Toshinori, she can surely get this under control.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It takes a little time, but she soon has a fire going. She fans it, keeping it going. While she does, she turns over to check on the Gamemakers. They still seem engaged in what she’s doing. Good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Using her Quirk always feels like she’s whispering to something alive, making a secret friend that no one else is able to see. She can never explain it, but it’s there. And she whispers to the campfire in front of her, urging it to grow and burn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The campfire explodes outwards, flames flying everywhere. Fire moves fast, and powered with her Quirk, it practically flies across the room, coating every available surface. She thinks she hears the Gamemakers screaming in the background, but all her attention is focused on the blaze around her. Fire pours out of what used to be her campfire, swarming over the floors until the entire gym is ablaze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Due to most of the materials being inflammable, Akari has to pour all her strength into keeping the fire burning without fuel. It is possible for her to do that with her Quirk, but it’s far more tiring than if there was fuel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By now, the entire gym is filled with smokeless fire and orange light, flames running up the walls and across the floor. The air feels thick with heat and it's kind of hard to breathe, and she can feel the searing heat on her face and through her uniform. The light is blinding, searing into her eyes and forcing her to squint. Sweat beads on her back as she gets up, an inferno raging around her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sprinklers on the ceiling turn on, but she urges the flames higher and higher. The fire and water war against each other in a battle of elements as the Gamemakers continue to scream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Akari laughs humorlessly as she dances through the flames, surrounded by heat and fire that would burn if it got too close.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’s the one that calls an end to the training session, when she notices on the clock that ten minutes have passed. When she does, she extinguishes the flames, and leaves a mess of scorch marks and puddles of water from the sprinklers, and she bows to the Gamemakers. She leaves without being dismissed.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Fun fact: in my first concepts for this fic, Akari was named Mika and was supposed to have a quirk that gave her enhanced senses. I'm glad I went for the pyrokinetic route instead.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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